The Legend of Naruto
by MercenaryGrax
Summary: During his training with Jiraiya before the finals of the Chunin Exams, something awkward took place. One of Naruto's attempted jutsu went awry & another world has seemingly merged with Naruto's own. Follow along as Naruto and friends discover the world of the Dragoons. What will happen when they encounter new foes, incredible monsters, & the heroes from The Legend of Dragoon?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – Clash of Worlds – Ninjas & Dragoons Meet!**

Their fierce battle in the Dragon's Nest had finally come to its conclusion. Feyrbrand, the Dragon of the Wind had finally been defeated, and his master Greham along with him. Now, as Greham lay upon the ground, beaten and breathing his last breaths, Lavitz looked down upon him with a mixture of emotions roiling inside of him. His thoughts were racing and he couldn't quite figure out how to feel or what to think at this moment. So, instead, he chose to listen to Greham's dying words.

"You have Servi's strength. It seems my efforts were to no avail. I even used betrayal to obtain this power…." Greham sputtered out, chuckling in mild amusement after these words had been spoken. However, his body was soon wracked by pain and the Dragoon of Wind found himself coughing up specks of blood.

The loyal knight of Bale, Lavitz, stepped closer to his fallen opponent and knelt down, staring deep into the eyes of his father's killer. "I still…don't understand. Why did you betray my father? You were not like this before."

Greham frowned and gazed calmly into Lavitz's eyes. Despite the pain his body was in, the Dragoon refused to let it show. Instead, he began to speak again. "Nobody could be stronger than your father. That was the only thing I could never quite conquer. I…admired him. Not only as a fellow knight, but as his friend. But time goes by, and it turned into this _feeling_…."

Sighing softly, Greham donned a quiet smile and continued talking to the son of his once best friend. "This fear from realizing the limits of your abilities…. This fear…that goes absolutely nowhere. The only thing you can do is curse yourself for your own weakness…."

Lavitz couldn't accept this answer and rose to his feet, anger evident in his features and in his voice as he spoke. "But you couldn't possibly overcome your 'fear' by defecting to Doel. You needed to overcome my _father_!"

At this point, Greham spoke up again, quickly catching Lavitz's attention once more. "There was…an alternative. If only I could obtain a new power, I could be equal to your father…or perhaps I could have even _surpassed_ him…."

Beginning to cough again, Greham clutched the Dragoon Spirit that lay upon his chest. "That power was…the Dragoon Spirit I got from His Majesty Doel." Smiling up at his friend's son, Greham reached out a hand, or at least tried to. "Lavitz…live strong. Not just for your father, but for your kingdom and for those you love." Turning his gaze ever so slowly towards the ceiling of the cave, Greham's smile turned into a much more peaceful one as he closed his eyes. "Now…I can go…to be with Servi again…."

With that, Greham's body faded away into nothingness, death finally overtaking him. Lavitz was silent for a time until he heard Rose's voice. Looking into her eyes, he listened to the woman speak.

"He is lucky to be dead now. Greed for power eventually conquers you. Such power unleashed will only generate sorrow. It's such a shame. He should have known that." Despite her usually cool demeanor, Rose shook her head and sighed. "He was lucky to die now and avoid even more sorrow."

Lavitz didn't reply, nor did Dart and Shana say anything. They all looked to Lavitz as he stared at the Dragoon Spirit that lay on the ground before him. _Greham…_ Before his thoughts could proceed any further, the strangest, most unexpected thing happened. The Jade Dragoon Spirit began to shine brilliantly once more and slowly floated in the air before the one it chose as its rightful new wielder: the knight of Bale, Lavitz Slambert!

"Wha…what is this!?" Astonished at what was taking place right before his eyes, the knight took a few small steps forward and almost jumped when the Dragoon Spirit began to shine even more brilliantly!

Rose, meanwhile, took a step back and watched the events unfolding with a critical eye. _Such a coincidence…! It can't be…or…could this perhaps be _fate_!?_ Before she could even think to say anything, Dart's voice rang in her ears. Looking to him, she listened to what the wielder of the Red-Eyed Dragoon Spirit chose to say to his dear friend.

"Lavitz, maybe you too are…."

Rose smiled a small little smile and nodded her head calmly while gesturing towards the still hovering Dragoon Spirit. "Dart is right. The Dragoon Spirit of the Jade Dragon recognized you as the next master."

Lavitz shook his head in disbelief, never taking his eyes off the Jade Dragoon Spirit. "I am…a Dragoon? I deserve to rule over Dragons?"

Rose shook her head in the negative, feeling it would be prudent to 'correct' him in his assessment. "Not only do you 'deserve', but you have an _obligation_ to accept your fate as a Dragoon, don't you?"

Lavitz watched as the Dragoon Spirit dropped slowly to the ground, taking in Rose's words as it did. _I understand. Father, Greham…I understand my purpose. I promise I'll use this power and protect the people of Serdio!_

Kneeling down, Lavitz Slambert lifted the Dragoon Spirit into his hands and rose once more, the small orb shining brightly in his clenched hand. "It's what Greham left for me. I understand. I accept it! I accept the fate of a Dragoon!" Glancing around at his companions, Lavitz let his gaze linger just a moment on Dart and Shana before returning his gaze to the veteran Dragoon of the group: Rose. "I will use this power for justice!" Turning to face Dart now, the powerful knight grinned at his best friend and traveling companion. "Just like Dart and Rose!"

Rose shook her head and laughed lightly. _Use it for justice, huh? I suppose that's to be expected from one such as he._

Shana chose this moment to approach Lavitz and clasp his hands excitedly. "Good for you, Lavitz." However, before anything more could be said, the young woman doubled over, barely catching her balance. Hands on her knees, she watched as Dart rushed to her side, supporting her.

"Shana!? What's wrong!?"

Shana was gasping for breath at this point. Her lungs were on fire and tears stung at her eyes. "I…I can't…breathe."

Dart's eyes widened in horror and he quickly looked to Rose. "Could she be suffering from too much of the dragon's poison!?"

Lavitz spoke up at this point, already formulating a plan that would get Shana the help she needed as fast as possible. Folding his arms over his chest, the knight closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "We cannot make it over Villude carrying Shana. Our only choice is to go to Lohan!"

Dart interrupted, clearly not understanding why Lohan would be the first place Lavitz thought of to take the sick Shana to. "Lohan…. That commercial town!?"

Lavitz remained calm and nodded his head in response. "Yes, that's the one. I heard there is a great doctor there!"

Dart didn't want to waste anymore time, so he threw Shana onto his back and shouted at his companions. "Hurry!"

However, it was at this point that everything went terribly wrong. Before they could even take a single step towards the exit, the ground beneath their feet began to rumble and quake uncontrollably. In fact, it felt as if the very world itself was being torn asunder! "What's going on!?" Dart found himself shouting in confusion as he struggled to maintain his footing and keep Shana from any further injury.

Rose glanced about and shook her head. "I don't know, but I have a terrible feeling."

Lavitz nodded in response to this sentiment. "I do too Rose. It would appear that things are about to become much, _much_ worse."

_**Moments earlier – Naruto's World**_

Naruto found himself screaming at the top of his lungs as Jiraiya, the very man that was _supposed_ to be helping him train, threw him into a chasm! Tears stinging at his eyes, the young genin quickly bit his thumb and began going through the necessary hand seals for the Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique), thrusting his hand out as quickly as he could.

Unfortunately for him, or, perhaps fortunately depending on how you look at it, Naruto pumped far too much chakra into the technique and ended up summoning the Boss Toad himself, Gamabunta! Before either of them could even say anything, Naruto landed atop the toad's head and held on for dear life as the entire world began to quake. Surprisingly, the Toad summon didn't say anything and merely told the young lad to hold on tight as he jumped away to safety.

Upon touching down, the Boss Toad glanced about as the scenery began to shift before them. "**Gaki, did you summon me for this? The world…it's being transformed. What in the world is going on here?**"

Naruto simply shook his head as Jiraiya joined him atop Gamabunta's massive head. "It would seem the gaki pumped some of his captive's foul chakra into the Kuchiyose no Jutsu. How this began happening is beyond me. Gamabunta, think you can get us somewhere high up and safe so we can check out what the heck is going on?"

Gamabunta grunted an affirmative to the request before leaping to a location nearby that was elevated a bit more than their previous location. As the trio looked around at the events taking place before them, they couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread wash over them. "This is going to be very bad, isn't it Ero-sensei?"

Jiraiya could only nod his head in response as he instructed Gamabunta to carry them swiftly back to Konoha's gates. Perhaps the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have some answers!

_**An hour later**_

Shortly after Jiraiya and Naruto arrived at the gates of Konoha and dismissed Gamabunta, they spotted an odd group of travelers approaching the gate at a hurried pace. Quickly drawing their kunai and preparing for what might end up being a battle, Jiraiya and Naruto awaited the arrival of these new 'guests'. However, as the group of four neared the gates, the two couldn't help but notice how oddly dressed the four of them were. Not only that, but they were heavily armored and the man in red was carrying what appeared to be a very sickly girl in his arms.

Glancing up at his sensei, Naruto gave him a quizzical look before the both of them slipped away their weapons. When Jiraiya shrugged to indicate he clearly had no idea what was going on, Naruto turned his gaze back to the man in red and frowned before taking a step forward. "I'm not sure who you people are, but…she doesn't look well. What happened?"

Dart looked at the strangely clad young man and frowned. "This…isn't Lohan, is it?" Shaking his head clear of the thought, the armored male glanced towards the village before him before quickly returning his gaze to the blonde-haired young man. "I don't know or care who you are. My friend is suffering from the dragon's poison and needs immediate medical attention! Please, if you have anyone here that's skilled in medicine, take us to her now!"

Naruto frowned, but nodded his head quickly. "We have medic nin in the village. I'm sure they can help your friend. Follow me." Turning, the Uzumaki boy quickly rushed into the village, only to freeze at what he saw.

There, in the streets of Konoha, was a large crowd of people he had never even seen before. In fact, as he glanced around, Naruto began to notice just how different Konoha now looked. It seemed that the strangers felt the same way.

Lavitz slowly stepped forward and glanced around. "It's Lohan…but…it's not at the same time. I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for that doctor in this village." Shaking his head at the oddity that was Lohan, yet not Lohan, the knight waited patiently for the young man to lead them towards help.

Before anyone could even say anything or take another step, the raven-haired female stepped forward past the group and stared around. "I see." Understanding immediately that none in the group understood just what she seemed to 'see', Rose turned to them and frowned. "It would seem that our two worlds have merged. If I had to fathom a guess, I would say that two incredibly powerful forces 'connected' our two worlds and drew them together into one."

Jiraiya quickly glared down at Naruto and bashed him over the head with his fist. "Damn it gaki! You just had to go and fuck up your damn jutsu again, didn't you?! Now look at what's happened! How the heck am I supposed to explain this to the old man, huh?!"

Rose's attention was drawn immediately to the young boy, a highly disbelieving look upon her face as she listened to what the old man had just said. _There's no way a boy like him could have possibly unleashed a force strong enough to connect to our world…_ Trying to shake the thought from her head, Rose tried to consider the point in her world that connected the worlds together.

It was at this point that Lavitz stepped forward and looked between Rose and the child. "You're thinking it too, aren't you Rose? If two powerful forces are required, then perhaps our battle with Greham and Feyrbrand is what connected us on our end?"

Rose nodded slowly and closed her eyes. "That would be my best guess. But there shouldn't be anything powerful enough on this end to connect to our world. This requires further investigation before we can come to any conclusions."

Dart shook his head and stepped forward, past Lavitz and stopping in front of the young man. Kneeling down so he was eye level with the young ninja, Dart forced a smile onto his face and spoke. "I don't care if you are the one that connected our worlds together from your side. I just need your help right now. Please, Shana could die. Take us to your village's doctors."

Naruto nodded and glanced around quickly before his eyes landed on Jiraiya. "Ero-sensei, you should go check in with Jiji. See if you can learn anything more from him and inform him of what we've learned. I think I know how to get to the hospital from here." Seeing Jiraiya about to protest, probably because he was being given orders by Naruto of all people, Naruto narrowed his eyes and nodded his head towards the Hokage Tower visible in the distance. "Just do it Ero-sennin! Some weird stuff's happening and he needs to know about it!"

Turning back to the group of strangers, Naruto smiled and began hurrying them towards their destination, the hospital of Konoha. "I'm not sure what the doctors are like in your world, but I guarantee you that here in Konoha, we've got some of the best in the world. Heh, with all the times they've had to patch me up over the years, they'd kinda have to be." Chuckling nervously at that, beginning to frown at his memories, the blonde led them closer and closer towards their destination.

The entire time they were rushing through the busy streets, Rose couldn't help but stare hard at the boy. _There's something…different about this boy. I just can't quite put my finger on it. I suppose the best way to get answers would be to speak to him about it later. Shana's life is more important at the moment._

_**Hokage Tower**_

Hiruzen and Jiraiya stood on the balcony overlooking the village of Konoha. Or at least what _used_ to be Konoha. Now, if what Jiraiya had told him was true, Konoha and this village of Lohan, as the otherworlders had called it, had somehow _merged_ into one village. If he felt like joking, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have turned to his pupil and joked about what they could possibly call this new village.

Sadly, now was not a time for jokes. With his back turned to Jiraiya and hands clasped behind his back, the elderly Hokage shook his head. "I can't believe that Naruto's unleashing just a small fraction of the Kyuubi's chakra could cause all this. If he's this powerful now, just what can we expect from the boy in the days to come?"

Jiraiya chuckled a bit and shook his head. "Honestly? I don't know. What I do know is that he's got a good head on his shoulders and I'll continue to train him to the best of my ability. In fact, I think it would be a good idea for me to start getting serious if he's going to be pulling stunts like this."

Shaking his head, the Toad Sannin looked into the Sandaime's eyes as he turned to face him. "What bad timing, huh old man? What are we going to do about the Chunin Exams, and more importantly, the _invasion_?"

Sarutobi closed his eyes and shook his head. "We will continue with the Chunin Exams as planned, but we'll have to figure out what to do about the new villagers. They're a part of our home now, and we can't just let Orochimaru's army harm them." Breathing a heavy sigh, Hiruzen sat at his desk and motioned for Jiraiya to take a seat as well. "We're going to need to discuss this further Jiraiya-kun. Leave Naruto-kun to take care of our guests for now. You and I need to go over our plans for the invasion."

Jiraiya nodded slowly and glanced quietly out the window. "I've no problems with that old man. I just hope that everything will be okay…"

"Me too Jiraiya-kun. Me too."

_**Konoha Hospital – Emergency Ward**_

The doctors that had been desperately trying to heal Shana stopped after a time and shook their heads. Turning, the head doctor removed his mask and left the room to discuss things with the patient's companions.

Upon finding them waiting nearby, the doctor made his way towards them, a frown clear on his face. "I'm sorry, but there's really not much we can do. Physically, she's fine. The, erm…dragon's poison?" Seeing the group of strangers nod quietly, the doctor nodded. "The poison seems to be eating away at her mind. We did what we could to ease her pain and slow the poison, but there's really only so much we can do."

Frowning further, the doctor shook his head and closed his eyes. "Even with our treatment, she has, at best, two weeks to live unless something is done to counteract the poison soon."

When Dart looked about ready to cry out in frustration and demand that the doctors try harder, another man, clearly one from their world, came walking down the hall towards them. Curious as to why he was here, Dart was about to speak up when he saw the man raise his hand.

"I saw the girl you were carrying here. Would you mind explaining the situation to me young man?"

When Dart simply nodded his head in response, the doctor listened patiently as the man clad in red armor regaled everyone with their tale. When Dart had finally finished, the doctor, a man by the name of Sanator, nodded his head and began to scratch his chin in thought. "I see, I see. I have heard of one thing that might be able to cure her; however it's something I've only heard about in legend. It's a curious plant called the Dragoni Plant. I'm afraid I don't know of where you can find such a thing, but it is said to grow in places where dragons have lived."

With a shrug of his shoulders, Sanator walked with the head doctor towards the room Shana was currently resting in. Before stepping foot inside, he glanced over his shoulder and smiled softly. "I wish you the best of luck in your search. Remember what the good doctor said: she has two weeks. Use that time efficiently and find what you need to save her." With that, Sanator stepped into the room, leaving the group of four to discuss things amongst themselves.

As the four of them wracked their brains in search of any ideas that could help them find this item known as Dragoni Plant, Naruto suddenly perked up. "Hey, I've an idea. We don't know exactly where to find this Dragoni Plant thing, right?" Seeing them nod, the blonde ninja grinned and thumped his fist against his chest. "Well, you guys said this Lohan place is a huge center of trade and stuff right?" Once more, they nodded. "Good. Then there's a good chance somebody might know _something_ about it. Give me a little time and I'm sure I can find somebody to help us."

Stepping back away from them, Naruto performed the hand seal for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) and grinned as he announced the name of his technique and created fifty clones, much to the astonishment of his new friends. "You guys know what to do. If you find somebody that might be able to help, tell that person to wait for us and dispel yourself so I know how to get there. Got it?" Seeing them nod and rush off, the Uzumaki turned and grinned at his companions. "So, what'd you think of that?"

Dart and Lavitz blinked a few times, too shocked for words. It was Rose that finally broke the silence. "It makes sense now. You're a ninja, aren't you? We had a few of those in our world. It would seem that they didn't quite know as much as the ninja of your world do, however. Clever use of your ninjutsu Naruto. Let us hope that it pays off."

As Naruto grinned in response and gave her a thumbs up, shouting something about 'dattebayo' or something, Dart stepped forward. "Naruto, why are you being so helpful to us? We only just met you."

The blonde genin frowned at that and looked up into Dart's eyes. "Do I need a reason to help people in need? If I see somebody in trouble, it doesn't matter if I know them or not, you can bet I'm going to help them. You'd better believe it, dattebayo."

_What is this dattebayo that he keeps speaking of? Does that word have some special meaning in his world?_ Dart couldn't help but think as he stared curiously down at the boy grinning up at him. After a moment, the Red-Eyed Dragoon nodded quietly and offered a kind smile. "Thank you Naruto Uzumaki. We welcome and appreciate all of your help. I'm sure we'll be able to save Shana with you helping us like this."

Lavitz stepped forth at this point and clapped Naruto on the shoulder. "You have a good head on your shoulders Naruto Uzumaki. From what you've explained to us already, you don't get a lot of respect here in your village. Personally, I can't understand why that is. I do know that it doesn't matter, however. You've a strength unlike most people your age, and a kind soul. We welcome your help and look forward to working with you." Seeing Naruto grinning up at him as well, the knight of Bale couldn't help but offer a big smile of his own right back.

_Great, it seems the two of them have found a new friend. But can we even trust him? If he does have the kind of power to connect our worlds, what else is he capable of?_ Rose thought to herself as she kept a close watch on the boy known as Naruto Uzumaki. If he was going to be working with them to save Shana's life, she would take this opportunity to observe his actions and learn exactly what kind of person he really was.

_**Half an hour later**_

The group had lost themselves in conversation as they waited for Naruto receive word from his clones. When the young man suddenly froze in the middle of saying something, Dart and Lavitz placed their hands upon his shoulders and asked him if he was okay. Looking into their eyes, Naruto brought a hand up and scratched at the back of his head. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. One of my clones might have found somebody that can help us."

At their inquisitive looks, Naruto figured it best to just spit it out. "When my clone asked this guy if he knew anything about the Dragoni Plant, he said he had a book on it. He asked me what I needed the plant for, and when I mentioned you guys, he acted like he knew you." Scratching a little more, Naruto looked at the floor and shook his head before deciding to just say it. "Do you guys know somebody named Dabas?"

Seeing their eyes light up in recognition of the name, the blonde genin nodded. "So you do. Well Dabas is waiting for us. I promised I'd lead you guys there so we could talk in person. It's kind of easy to get lost on the way, so just follow me you guys." Seeing them nod, Naruto led them out of the hospital and on their way to Dabas' Antiques Shop.

_**Moments Later – Dabas' Antiques Shop**_

As soon as Naruto led his new companions into the shop, Dabas rushed over and clapped Dart on the shoulders. "So good to see you again Dart!" Turning, he looked at Lavitz and Rose and smiled brightly at them as well. "It's a pleasure to see both of you as well, Lavitz, Rose."

Returning his gaze to Dart, the Antiques dealer sighed and turned, taking a few steps away as he motioned for them to follow him over to the counter. Reaching it, Dabas pointed out the pages in a small notebook he usually carried on his person. "After speaking with Naruto, I got to searching and found this passage. It says: 'North of the poisoned forest. Past the troublesome plant. Observed Dragoni Plant in back of the Shrine!'" Looking at the group of four, Dabas scratched his chin in thought as he closed the book. "Does this help you any?"

Lavitz looked up at the ceiling of the store for a moment before he remembered something. "That reminds me…. I saw a strange plant in the back of the forest when Shana stopped to rest."

Rose, instantly picking up on what he was getting at, nodded her head and turned to face him. "Oh, the one that became a monster because of the Dragon's poison…." Sighing, she shook her head and looked at the notebook Dabas now clutched in his right hand. "But you cannot get past it unless you purify it with something."

It didn't take long for a rather ingenious idea to pop into Lavitz's mind. "How about the Spring Water underground!? That might help the plant."

Dart, clearly agreeing with the plan, shouted out: "That's it!" before turning to Dabas and clapping him on the shoulder. "Thanks Dabas!" Dart shouted mere moments before he, Lavitz, and Rose rushed out of the shop, leaving Dabas and Naruto standing there staring at each other for a few moments before the merchant finally spoke.

"I guess they won't be doing any shopping?" Seeing Naruto shrug his shoulders before rushing off after his friends, the merchant's shoulders drooped and he shook his head. "Well isn't that just my luck."

_**Konoha Gates**_

As Naruto caught up with his new friends, the boy shouted out to them to wait. "Hey, hold up! I'm coming with you guys! I want to help Shana too, and you might need my help. Just give me a moment. I need to go talk to Jiji and tell him I'll be leaving with you guys to get the Dragoni Plant. Promise me you'll wait here for me to return?"

Dart and Lavitz looked to each other and nodded before turning their gaze to Rose. Seeing as she didn't seem to care one way or the other, Dart turned his attention back to Naruto and nodded. "We'll wait Naruto. Do what you need to do and then we'll be off."

Rose watched as Naruto rushed off to speak with the one he called 'Jiji' with her usual, critical stare. _I suppose we'll be seeing what you're capable of soon enough, Naruto Uzumaki._ Glancing over at the bottle Lavitz was holding, it was clear that the three of them had already collected something to carry the water in. All they had left to do was reach the pure spring in the Dragon's Nest, collect the water, and be on their way to the shrine mentioned in Dabas' notebook.

_**Moments Later – Hokage Tower**_

Bursting into the Hokage's office, Naruto waved as the Sandaime before offering him his usual grin. "Heya Jiji! What's up?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and offered a quiet chuckle before motioning for Naruto to take a seat. "I assume you have something important you wanted to talk to me about Naruto?"

The blonde grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, yeah. I'm sure Ero-sensei already told you about those people we escorted into the village, right? Well, Dart, Lavitz, Rose, and I, we found out what we need to cure that girl. We need something called a Dragoni Plant and we now know where to find one. I told them that I'm going to go with them and help. So, if it's okay with you, can you please let me leave with them so I can help save Shana's life? If Ero-sennin has a problem with it, I promise I'll train twice, heck, even _three_ times as hard when I get back. Besides, depending on what happens while out with Dart's group, you could even consider this a training trip of sorts. So please, PLEASE let me go?!"

The Sandaime Hokage found himself chuckling as he nodded his head affirmatively. "Go ahead Naruto-kun. If they trust you enough to assist them, then go save young Shana's life. Just be careful and take care of yourself." Seeing how excited Naruto was, the Hokage stepped out from behind his desk and wrapped the boy up in a quick hug before ushering him out of the office.

"You sure it's okay to just let him go off on his own like that old man? They seem like good people, but we don't even know for sure if we can trust them just yet." Jiraiya stated as he reentered the room.

Hiruzen sighed and lit his pipe as he stared out the window. "You should show some trust in your godson Jiraiya-kun. I believe he'll be just fine. More than that, this is a good opportunity for us to test the waters and see what this new world holds in store for us. Wherever they go, Naruto's sure to experience some interesting new things. When he returns, and he will, it will be good to hear what he has to say. Don't you think so too?"

The Toad Sannin sighed and nodded his head after taking a moment to think about it. "He's a good kid. I'm sure he'll be fine. But he'd better take it easy and not do anything stupid while he's out there. We don't know what the heck is out there." Sighing, he sat down across from Hiruzen and leaned back. "I'm going to be working him each day until he drops once he gets back, that's a promise. Pulling a stunt like this when I'm trying to prepare him for his match against Neji? Seriously, what in the world is that gaki thinking?"

_**Konoha Village Gates**_

Naruto rushed up to his friends and grinned. "Good news! Jiji's given me permission to leave the village so long as I train extra hard when I get back. Sooo, let's get going! We have to get to this Dragon's Nest place right?"

Rose donned a smirk for just a brief second before nodding slowly and pushing herself off of a nearby wall. "That is correct. Not only does the corrupted plant rest there, but the pure spring resides there as well. I hope you can keep up."

Watching as Rose began to walk off, Naruto shrugged and looked to Dart and Lavitz. "So, any idea what this shrine's supposed to be like?" The young genin asked the two as the three of them hurried after Rose on their way to the Dragon's Nest.

_**A short time later – Dragon's Nest**_

"Huh. So this is what the Dragon's Nest looks like. A dark, gloomy forest that smells like crap and is teeming with monsters. Fun." Shrugging at that, Naruto glanced at the big hole before them and chuckled somewhat nervously to himself. "Lemme guess, we're supposed to jump down there?" Seeing the others nod in response to his question, the blonde shrugged again and donned his usual grin. "Well, guess I'll see you at the bottom then." Without a second thought, Naruto leaped into the hole before him, landing quietly at the bottom where the party had fought Greham and Feyrbrand not too long ago.

Joining him, Dart and the others looked down at him curiously a moment before the red-clad mercenary waved for the boy to follow him. "Come on Naruto, the spring is a little further in. We don't have far to go, but be ready for anything, got it?" Seeing him nod in response, the mercenary grinned and nodded his head. Without saying another word, the group of four journeyed inwards towards the spring water that would help them reach the shrine.

Shortly before they could descend the hole that led right down to the spring water, however, a rather grotesque plant-looking monster appeared before them, accompanied by two Lizard Men. Cocking his head curiously to the side, Naruto pointed at the plant and voiced is question. "Is that thing supposed to be some kind of monster too?" When his friends nodded, the boy sighed and shook his head. "Man, you guys had all kinds of weird crap in your world, didn't you?"

Before any of them could so much as say a word, Naruto performed the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. When five clones sprung forth, the real Naruto Uzumaki looked to Lavitz and extended his hand. "Give me the bottle. I'll go get the spring water while you guys handle things up here." When Lavitz handed over the bottle, Naruto grinned and dashed off past the nearest Lizard Man. When it tried to attack him, Naruto ducked under its first attack, kicked the thing as hard as he could in its chest, and flipped over the beast before hurrying down the hole to collect the spring water.

Dart and the others couldn't help but watch for a moment as Naruto's shadow clones fought the Man-Eating Bud. It swung violently in an attempt to 'kill' the clones, but they just kept jumping around and attacking it from different angles every time. Shrugging, Dart decided to focus his attention on one Lizard Man while Lavitz and Rose dealt with the one that had tried to attack the real Naruto just moments before.

Quickly dashing forward, Dart blocked an attack from the Lizard Man with his sword before kicking it as hard as he could, knocking the monster back a few steps. This was all the mercenary needed for him to have enough time to unleash his Addition. Swinging his sword down, Dart struck the beast in its chest before spinning around and slashing the creature again. Without giving the beast the time to react, Dart swung his sword upwards, creating yet another large gash in the beast's chest. When the attack was over, he shouted out: "Volcano!" and watched the beast collapsed dead to the ground.

Glancing over to the Man-Eating Bud, Dart watched as Naruto dealt the finishing blow to it with a strange, spiraling sphere of energy clutched tight in his right hand. With a shrug, the Dragoon looked to his other comrades to see that they had already finished their opponent off as well. It didn't take long after that for Naruto to reappear before them with spring water in hand and a grin on his face. Nodding in satisfaction at how things turned out, Dart turned back towards the dragon's lair and smiled. "Good job everyone. Let's get going. Shana's counting on us."

_**A short time later – Shirley's Shrine**_

It hadn't taken them much longer to reach the plant in question. Sure, they had to fight a few more monsters along the way, but it wasn't the four of them couldn't handle. Upon reaching the plant, Naruto couldn't help but comment on how freaky the damn thing looked as Dart splashed the spring water on it. When it finished wilting away, Naruto couldn't stop the grin that appeared on his face. "That was kind of awesome, dattebayo."

Naturally, the others still didn't know what the hell a 'dattebayo' was, but they weren't even going to bother trying to question him on it. The fact of the matter was that they were on important business and needed to hurry, for Shana's sake.

Now they stand at the entrance to the shrine. Glancing around him, Naruto couldn't help but admire how very beautiful the place was and how serene everything felt. However, he also couldn't help but sense that there was something off about this place. "As much as I'd like to say this is a safe place and we can take it easy, I'm sensing more monsters. But…there's something else too that I can't quite put my finger on. I wonder what it could be."

Frowning at that, Dart and the others nodded their heads as they proceeded further into the shrine. However, they soon stopped their trek as Rose found herself looking up at a sculpture of a dragon in the archway above them. Realizing that their companion was looking at something, Dart took a few steps back and peered up above at the sculpture, just as Lavitz and Naruto did the same.

"Is that…a sculpture of a dragon?" Dart questioned, a hint of concern finding its way into his voice.

Lavitz frowned and shook his head. "Dragon…. I do hope nothing bad will happen."

Rose took a step forward at this point and spoke, getting everyone's attention. "Dart, Lavitz, take out your Dragoon Spirits."

Before Naruto could even question what the hell a Dragoon Spirit was, the two men did as they were instructed and brilliant flashes of light erupted not only from the strange orbs they were carrying, but from the sculpture as well. _Now I _really_ want to know what the heck a Dragoon Spirit is!_

Dart and Lavitz stayed focused on the Dragoon Spirits clutched firmly in their hands. "They are resonating together." Dart stated curiously.

Lavitz glanced towards the shrine and shook his head. "Does this mean there's a Dragoon in there!?"

Instead of giving him a direct answer, Rose put away her Dragoon Spirit and slipped past the three men. "Go see it with your own eyes."

Dart sighed and put his Spirit away as well. "Let's move on. We don't have the time to just stand around wondering what might happen anyways."

Naruto and Lavitz watched as Dart walked off to catch up to Rose before turning to each other. Shrugging their shoulders, Naruto shouted at the two of them to wait up before he and Lavitz chased after them into the next area.

As they entered the next area, Naruto couldn't help but notice all the signs scattered about saying a variety of different things. Kneeling down as the others regrouped, the ninja read aloud what was written on the first sign. "'Don't mess with Sir Drake! Get out!' Who the heck is 'Sir Drake'?" Scratching the top of his head in confusion, the genin decided to put that thought out of his head for the time being as he rejoined the others.

As they progressed throughout the shrine, the group couldn't help but notice that there were more and more signs scattered about. Some appeared to have complete gibberish written on them, such as the one that said: 'Status Facing Left.' while others came off as taunts from the same 'Sir Drake' mentioned in the first sign. However, the thing that really got to everybody was the fact that every damn treasure chest they came across didn't have any treasure in it; it just had more taunts from that same bastard! It was getting to the point where Naruto was ready to hunt down 'Sir' Drake and beat him to a bloody pulp for pulling this crap. _I swear when I find you I'm going to make you cough up all the damn treasure we've earned you lousy bastard!_

However, the biggest shock came when they opened a chest only to suddenly be shot along a mine cart ride that ended with the group splashing _hard_ into the water in the first damn area! As soon as they were out of the water, Naruto didn't even bother trying to dry himself off. Instead, he glared up at the spot they had fallen from and began to chuckle darkly. "Oh I'm going to make sure I find you now 'Drake'. I'm going to kick your ass for all of this!"

Dart and Lavitz watched on with concern before turning to one another. "Is he going to be alright?" When Dart simply shrugged in response, Lavitz turned to Naruto and patted him on the shoulder. "Naruto, calm down. This 'Sir Drake' fellow probably isn't even here anymore. All of this could have been rigged up ages ago. There's really no way for us to know. Instead, we should stay focused on the task at hand: saving Shana." Seeing that he was calming down now, Lavitz gave the boy a hug and nodded as he waved towards the shrine. "Let's get going Naruto. We've got a girl to save."

Dart and Rose watched as Lavitz and Naruto walked off further into the shrine once more before glancing to one another. At Rose's slight glare, Dart simply shrugged and proceeded to follow after the others with the Darkness Dragoon following him moments later. _First Naruto and now somebody calling himself 'Sir Drake'? Things just keep getting stranger._ Rose thought to herself as she followed after them. Of course, she wasn't at all pleased about being drenched the way she was, and she was actually somewhat agreeing with Naruto's sentiments in that regard. _If I get my hands on 'Drake', I'll kill him._

When they finally made it back to the weird turn dial mechanism they had passed by before, Naruto couldn't help but focus his attention on Rose. As Dart kneeled down to take care of inputting the correct pass code, Naruto looked the raven-haired beauty up and down carefully, his brow furrowing in thought. _Whatever those Crystal Golems keep using on us, it hurts her a hell of a lot more than it does the rest of us. I wonder why._ Frowning, the young ninja shook his head and turned away when Rose glanced his way, clearly aware of him looking her over. _Oh well. I just hope she'll be alright._

Glancing upwards at the sound of a clicking noise of sorts, the group watched as a ladder sprung into view above them. With a shrug, the four ventured forth and were soon presented with another unique trap. As they came upon it, Naruto glanced at the statues and noticed something about them. "Hey, aren't these just like those statues we saw before?" Without waiting for confirmation, the young ninja walked up to the gold statue and turned it to face the front before looking to Dart. "Turn that one to the left. I think this ought to disable the trap so we can proceed further into the shrine."

Dart nodded in agreement, the three of them now understanding his idea perfectly. What had seemed simple gibberish at the time was actually a hint on how to bypass this very trap! Once everything was set in place, the group proceeded to the top of the shrine and began glancing around. "If the Dragoni Plant isn't up here, I'm not sure where it could be." Naruto stated softly, earning nods from the others moments later.

As the group began to proceed up the steps, Naruto threw out his arm and stopped everyone in their tracks. Glaring forward, the young genin took a few steps forward and began to shout. "I know you're there. I can sense you. Come out now if you know what's good for you."

It didn't take long for a peculiarly dressed man to come out from where he was hidden and stand before them. The weird guy looked at Naruto and cackled gleefully before looking around at the others in the group. "It's amazing you made it through all the traps! But I'm afraid your luck's about to run out!" Donning a sadistic grin, the man looked each one of them square in the eyes. "'Cuz I won't let you go any further! Now come on! Draw your weapons!"

Dart sighed and shook his hands before him in a placating gesture. "Wait! We are just here to look for the Dragoni Plant! We don't want to fight you!"

The mysterious bandit shook his head disbelievingly. "You want me to believe that!? You're after my treasure, aren't ya!?"

Dart took a step forward and glared at the man. "I'm telling you, that's not it!"

At this point Rose decided to voice her opinion. Drawing her rapier, she pointed it at the bandit and sighed. "It's quicker just to beat him."

Naturally, this upset the weird individual to the point he flew into a fit. "You thieves! Now you reveal your true selves! Prepare yourselves!"

However, before he could even attempt to attack them, Naruto took a step forward and raised his hand, getting everyone's attention. "You. Would your name happen to be Drake?" Seeing the man nod only confirmed Naruto's suspicions. Donning a grin, the Konoha genin drew a kunai and began to laugh. "Dart, Lavitz, Rose, let me handle this guy. I've got a bone to pick with this asshole."

"But…!" Lavitz tried to protest, only to receive a harsh look from Naruto. When the blonde shifted his eyes towards Rose, the knight of Bale turned to face her as well.

"Think for a moment guys. Firstly, whatever those golems have been using, it's really hurting Rose. She may look and act fine, but…well, it's hard to hide these kinds of things from a sensor ninja." With a shrug of his shoulders, the blonde genin turned back to Drake and grinned. "Besides, we don't know what else lies in wait for us. This guy could prove to be the very least of our problems, there's no way to know for sure yet. So sit back, relax, and let me handle this. I promise you guys that you can trust me here."

As Dart and Lavitz agreed to let Naruto deal with Drake, Rose eyed the young man once more. She was clearly having a hard time figuring young Naruto out, and the fact that he had now proven to be some kind of sensor only further piqued her curiosity. _Just what are you Naruto? Truthfully?_

Drake began to laugh as he took a battle stance. "A little kid thinks he can handle Drake the Great?! How cute! Then let me show you just how outclassed you are little kid!"

The Konoha shinobi chuckled darkly to himself as he prepared for the fight that was about to take place. "Oh you don't know how wrong you are about that Drakey. You see, you pissed me off. You've pissed me off so much I'm afraid I'm going to have to force you to beg for mercy before I'm through with you. We're here trying to get help for our friend, but nooo. You had to go and set up all those traps, steal all the treasure for yourself, and drench us with water! Oh, but then we get here, we find you holing up in this, what I would _assume_ to be, sacred place, and you dare to call _us_ thieves?! By the time I'm done with you, you're going to regret ever having come here, I guarantee it." And with that said, Naruto moved into action. The fight had begun!

**A/N: Okay, here we go. This is the first of the new fics I had planned. Somehow I finished this chapter up pretty quickly, and I'm really glad with how it turned out. Hopefully you all enjoy this story as much as the others, but if not, that's perfectly okay. I'll say it now: The Legend of Dragoon is one of my absolute favorite games of all time and it's one of the best RPGs I've played. Regardless of that fact, I think this crossover just works well with how it's been set up. I do hope you look forward to seeing more chapters, because I plan to work on chapter 2 when I get the chance.**

**If you have any questions regarding the fic, feel free to ask in a PM or a review and I'll do what I can to get back to ya. This is just the first chapter, so there's still a heck of a lot to look forward to.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – Shirley's Test, the Birth of a Dragoon, & the Beginning of the Chunin Exam Finals!**

As Naruto began to throw a kunai at Drake, the bandit seemed to have anticipated this attack and quickly threw two daggers at the blonde runt. The first dagger struck the kunai and both went flying away from the fight while the second dagger came dangerously close to the genin. With a smirk, the odd thief watched his dagger pierce Naruto's left shoulder, only for him to blink in confusion a moment later when the boy before him exploded in a puff of smoke. "What the heck?!"

Feeling a sense of dread suddenly wash over him, the bandit quickly dug around in his bag of tricks, withdrew a bomb, and tossed it up into the air right as Naruto came in from his left. Striking a match, he lit the fuse on the bomb and sent it flying into Naruto's face. "Don't know how you did that, but you won't be surviving this brat!"

Dart and the others watched as the bomb exploded in Naruto's face, sending the poor boy flying backwards until he hit the wall with enough force to break a person's body. However, the boy just exploded again with another 'pop!' and the two men of the group breathed a sigh of relief. Glancing into Dart's face, Lavitz smirked and began to laugh. "I swear this kid's going to give me a heart attack. I really thought he was about to kick the bucket from that one."

Dart nodded in agreement with that sentiment before turning his gaze back to Drake. "It's a good thing Naruto is the way he is, otherwise he could have died twice over already. It's obvious this bandit has many tricks up his sleeve, but then again, Naruto seems to as well. As much as I'd like to join in and help Uzumaki fight this guy, he asked us to let him handle him. As a fellow man, it's the least I can do to grant him that request and watch this fight through to its conclusion."

Rose sighed at that when she saw the two men before her nod in agreement. _Men and their pride. If Shana could see what was happening right now, she'd no doubt be having a fit._ Smiling ever so slightly at that thought, the Darkness Dragoon looked to Naruto's current position and noticed him eyeing her again. _These two really need to open up their senses. He's been hiding in the trees over there since the beginning of the fight. If Naruto was truly an enemy, there's no doubt he could have killed the two of them by now._

Shaking her head free of such thoughts, the lovely, raven-haired beauty couldn't help but feel somewhat shocked when she saw the boy smile at her and motion for her to watch the fight. Quirking an eyebrow, but doing as she was instructed, Rose turned just in time to see Drake flinging three more bombs at the four Naruto's that currently had him surrounded. Once more, explosions rocked the shrine, and once more, Drake found that none of the clones were his actual opponent. _You're trying to force him to expend his bag of tricks, aren't you Naruto?_

Naruto appeared behind Rose at this point and chuckled softly to himself as he leaned in close and began to speak, his breath tickling her ear and making the hairs on her neck stand on end. "You already figured out exactly what I'm up to, didn't you Rose-chan? I figured you would have. Just try to relax and trust in me more okay? I know you've been keeping an eye on me, and I'm not quite sure what exactly I did to make you doubt my intentions, buuut, it doesn't matter. I'm going to make sure I keep you and the others safe, dattebayo."

Patting her shoulder, Naruto stepped out from behind the men and smirked over at Drake. "Okay Drakey, I think it's time I got serious. You sure have a heck of a lot of tricks in that bag of yours, but I'm afraid it's just not enough. Face it; you're up against the wrong opponent this time." Quickly producing three shuriken, each with a kind of seal tag embedded in the rings of the throwing weapons, Naruto grinned and stared coldly into the sick bastard's eyes. "I'm not going to waste anymore time. Shana's really sick and I promised I'd help save her. Goodbye Drakey."

Feeling cold sweat beginning to trickle down his back and neck, the bandit quickly threw up his trap wall and tried to brace himself for whatever tricks the kid had in store for him this time. Sadly for him, this small defensive measure did nothing against the Konoha genin. As soon as the shuriken were thrown, the kid went through a quick series of hand seals and shouted out something Drake couldn't quite make out right before the three projectiles multiplied into twenty-five.

Eyes widening in horror, the bandit threw up his arms and tried to brace himself for what was coming. Nothing could have prepared him for the ensuing explosions that destroyed his trap wall, and when one of the shuriken pierced his blocking arm, Drake knew he was finished. Screaming out as the shuriken exploded, the bandit felt his life quickly fading away. Right when he thought he was done for, the boy came over and began tending to his wounds. It wasn't much, but it would at least ease the bandit's pain as his life came to an end. After all, nobody should have to die, suffering through his or her last moments. Fading away peacefully just seemed the better option to Naruto.

"I am sorry that your life had to end like this Drakey. I regret having to do this to you, but when I make a promise to somebody, I don't break it. We were never after your precious treasure to begin with. I just wanted you to know that."

Drake slowly nodded as his eyes began to lose their sight. "I…see…" Chuckling quietly to himself, the bandit reached up with his remaining arm and patted the boy's head softly. "You're…a good kid. I…I only wanted…to protect Shirley." His eyes finally losing their sight, the bandit found himself smiling serenely as he stared sightlessly at the sky. "I have to protect Shirley or…."

It was at this point that the specter of a beautiful woman suddenly appeared, startling the group into drawing their weapons and turning to face her. Rose was the only one that seemed unsurprised, remaining perfectly calm as she rose to her feet and stared into the face of the ghostly woman. When the ghost finally spoke, it was to Drake. "Drake…it's okay now. You can rest…" Floating over to him, Shirley looked down upon the bandit sadly and watched as he took his last breaths.

If she could have shed a tear for him, she would have. Instead, the ghostly woman looked down at the boy that killed Drake, staring at him with a sad smile before looking around at the others. "People with Dragoon Spirits." Sighing, she looked into Dart's eyes at this point. "Why are you disturbing my quiet moment?"

Lavitz, clearly on edge and not at all happy about being caught so off guard, pointed his spear at the ghost and shouted at her. "What are you!?"

Naruto couldn't help but take this moment to glance at his friend and quirk an eyebrow. _Considering she's see-through and floating there, I'd think the answer should be pretty obvious._

Dart stepped forward and stared hard into Shirley's eyes. "We are not here for that! We are here to save our friend's life!"

Shirley looked upon his face calmly and smiled. "The life of your friend, you say?"

Before anyone could say anything more, Rose stepped in front of Shirley and looked into her face. "Do you remember me?"

Shirley floated closer to the Darkness Dragoon so she could get a closer look at the woman. Clearly startled by what she saw, the spirit of Shirley floated backwards quickly, almost passing right through Naruto as she did. Clearly disturbed by this fact, he jumped over to stand near Lavitz and watched as Shirley floated around Rose, looking even more closely at the woman. Of course, she nearly brushed through Dart as well, and like Naruto, the Red-Eyed Dragoon stepped back away from her as she came near.

Finally stopping again in front of Rose, Shirley found herself frowning ever so slightly. "You are…." Pausing, the ghost adorned a saddened smile and nodded her head. "Rose, aren't you…? I understand now. You have been on your sad journey since then, haven't you?"

Rose just nodded calmly and responded with, "You too, Shirley." She watched as the ghost of her friend nodded in response before glancing around at her companions. Each of them looked totally lost, but that was to be expected. After all, none of them could possibly know the truth about who she was, nor just how old she really was. With a shrug of her shoulders, the raven-haired beauty glanced into Naruto's eyes as Dart chose that moment to speak. _I suppose I shouldn't be surprised Naruto. I got to see a part of you I didn't expect. You're far more skilled than I imagined, and you've a big heart. But…I can't help but wonder if you've killed before. You didn't even hesitate to kill this man…_

Naruto simply smiled at Rose and nodded his head at her, not realizing, nor truly caring about what she was thinking about at this time. To him, the blonde ninja was just glad Rose was alright. Soon, he glanced over at Dart and listened to his words.

"Won't you please spare me some Dragoni Plant!? Shana is suffering from the Dragon's poison!"

Shirley appeared somewhat shocked at this piece of information. "Dragon? Oh, it would seem they are still clinging to life." Sighing, the beautiful ghost shook her head. "Unfortunately, I don't have any Dragoni plant."

At this piece of news, Dart, Naruto, and Lavitz looked crushed. Naruto even collapsed to his knees and shook his head in disbelief. "But…"

Glancing down at his friend, Lavitz knelt beside him and wrapped the boy in a hug. "Shhh. You did your best Naruto, don't beat yourself up. We'll find another way if we have to. For now, let's remain calm and listen. Okay?" Seeing the boy nod, Lavitz ruffled his hair a bit and turned to watch the others and their conversation.

"Then, what about Shana?" Dart sounded heartbroken. It truly felt as if all hope had been taken from him in one crushing blow. Naruto and Lavitz could relate. After all their hard work to get to this point in search of the one thing they felt could save their friend's life, in the end it turned out that it had all been in vain.

Shirley, seeing just how defeated the group of friends looked, decided it was a good idea to speak up. "There is _one_ way to save her."

Dart didn't even hesitate. He rushed up to Shirley and shouted. "I'll try anything! Please, just tell me!" When Shirley brandished a Dragoon Spirit, Dart took a step back, a look of shock adorning his face. "A Dragoon Spirit!?"

Shirley nodded slowly. "A Dragon's poison can be removed with the Dragoon Spirit of a White Silver Dragon, which is filled with healing magic." Slipping the Dragoon Spirit away, Shirley smiled at the group. "Now, I will challenge you to see if you deserve this Dragoon Spirit. Shall we begin?" Looking into the eyes of the four warriors before her, the lovely Shirley nodded her head. "Try to overcome me. If you cannot do it, the girl's fate is to die." And with that, their test had begun.

At Rose's advice, the group didn't attack. Instead, they simply took the time to guard and try to recover as they awaited whatever Shirley had in store for them. When she turned to Dart and Lavitz and spoke, they didn't quite expect what came out. "Dart, Lavitz. Why do you fight?"

Looking at each other, Dart and Lavitz quickly nodded in agreement and spoke aloud their answer as one. "To protect those we love."

Shirley nodded at this point and faced Dart. "Dart. Bare your heart to me." Suddenly, Shirley ceased to stand there and in her place stood Shana! Blinking in disbelief, Naruto eyed the girl up and down before turning to Rose, who simply raised a finger to her mouth and signaled for him to remain quiet.

'Shana' spoke up after a moment of waiting and looked hurt as she spoke her words. "Dart, I have been waiting. Why did you leave without saying anything?"

Dart frowned at this and lowered his head. As he spoke, a mixture of emotions was clear in his voice. "To pursue the Black Monster."

"The Black Monster!?" Clearly feeling disbelief in his statement, 'Shana' spoke again. "Dart, what are you going to do after you find the Black Monster?"

Dart didn't even hesitate at this point. "Of course, I plan to get revenge!"

"Revenge!? Please, forget about revenge and be with me. The Black Monster…or me, Dart?"

Dart smiled sadly and looked 'Shana' square in the eyes as he spoke his answer. "Shana."

'Shana' smiled brightly at this point and blushed ever so slightly. "Really? Dart, I'm so happy!" After speaking these few, short words, 'Shana' disappeared, and once more Shirley floated before them. Turning her gaze to Lavitz next, the ghost spoke again. "Lavitz, show me what you believe."

Seeing the knight nod, Shirley smiled and disappeared again. In her place now stood King Albert of Bale. "Lavitz! What are you doing here!? Forget Shana and go back."

Lavitz furrowed his brow at this and shook his head in disbelief. "That's not like you!"

'Albert' clearly looked displeased with this answer. Pointing his lance at his long-time friend, the King of Bale shouted out, "Are you disobeying my order?" Clearly not happy with Lavitz at this point, 'Albert' spoke up again. "Lavitz! Are you disobeying my order? Are you really choosing one over so many!?"

Lavitz hardened his gaze as he stared at his king. "Shana needs me!"

'Albert' smiled at this and nodded, clearly satisfied with Lavitz's resolve. "Lavitz, well said. That's the renowned Knight of Serdio I know. Life is precious, whether it's one or many. Do your best and help Shana." Just as before, Albert disappeared and in his place floated Shirley once more.

Oddly enough, the spirit turned to Naruto this time and spoke his name. "Naruto. It is your turn. Bare your heart unto me." Seeing the boy nod, Shirley disappeared once more and in her place now stood Iruka of Konoha. Folding his arms against his chest, 'Iruka' looked skeptical as he looked into Naruto's eyes. "Naruto. Just what do you think you're doing, coming here? Your place is not with these people and you know it."

The Konoha genin frowned in disbelief at what 'Iruka' was saying. "Iruka-sensei, I don't care about that. There's no way I can just leave a sick person to die when I know there's something I can do to help!"

'Iruka' smiled softly at Naruto and nodded calmly. "Well said, Naruto. You're doing the right thing. But, is it for the right reasons?" Seeing the confused look now taking hold on Naruto's face, 'Iruka' voiced his next question. "Isn't it true that you're just doing this for yourself Naruto-kun? I was never fair to you in the village. None of us were. Face it, you were happy to have the chance to leave the village for a time."

Naruto felt like snarling at this point as he glared hard at 'Iruka'. "It's true that life in the village hasn't been easy for me. But that doesn't matter. I'm a good person Iruka-sensei, and as I said before, I can't just stand by and watch somebody suffer! I can't let them suffer as I have…not when there's something I can do to help them."

The boy's sensei nodded sadly at that. "You wish for respect when there's a very probable chance that you will never earn it. So, still knowing this, you fight for what you believe is right and help people to the best of your ability. It's an admirable quality Naruto-kun." Seeing the boy smile, 'Iruka' spoke again. "You say your dream is to become the Hokage of your village Naruto, but you've never really explained to me just _why_ that is. Are you perhaps just after the power that position grants you in the village?"

The blonde genin chuckled and shook his head. "Hell no! Sure the Hokage is the most respected person in the village, but there's far more to it for me than just that! I want to be like Jiji and protect the people of the village. Despite what they've put me through, there are good people in the village and I've vowed to become strong enough to keep everybody safe. I won't let a single person get hurt!"

'Iruka' nodded his head in response to that answer. "Again, an admirable answer Naruto-kun. However, you can't always save everyone. When the time comes and you lose someone dear to you, I wonder what you'll do."

Before he could say anything in response, 'Iruka' disappeared and in his place floated the ghost of Shirley once again. Frowning at that, Naruto found himself looking at the ground at his feet. _I don't ever want to experience that…_

"Dart, advancing along your path will bring you the truth, but you will also face many ordeals. And you still want to go?" Shirley questioned to the young man before her.

Dart nodded, resolute in his determination and answer. "No matter what, I will go."

Shirley smiled at this. "Brave young people, what you'll see is the truth. Never gaze away. Only total acceptance will show you the right path." Turning her gaze to Lavitz again, the ghost spoke to him once more. "Lavitz, I ask you. Who is the most important person for you to protect?"

Lavitz smiled as he remembered clearly the person he loved most in the world. "Mother."

The ghost nodded in acceptance of that answer. "It's human to care about one's parents. You are human before being a knight. Parents care for their children and a child yearns for its parent. Bonds make a human strong. Don't forget you have somebody waiting for you."

Finally, the ghost turned to her longtime friend. "Lastly, Rose, I ask you this: What does life mean to you?"

Rose frowned at this and shook her head as she closed her eyes. "Nothing but sacrifice."

Shirley didn't seem at all fazed by this answer. Instead, she simply chose to speak her response. "Rose, I see the end to your agonizing journey. That young man there will awaken the old you, and lead you to the future. Now, illuminate the dark road with my White Silver Dragoon Spirit. You are the new Dragoons!"

And with that, the test was over. Shirley relinquished her Dragoon Spirit unto Dart and floated back a bit. "That was beautiful. Take this with you, as I promised. But, I have one favor to ask." Turning her gaze to the deceased Drake, Shirley smiled sadly. "He has protected my peace from countless attempts by bandits. He stood up to you for me." Frowning, knowing there was nothing that could be done for the man anymore, the spirit simply shook her head. "I would ask you to use the Dragoon Spirit's power to save his life, but…"

Naruto took a step forward and took a deep, shaky breath. "I am so very sorry Madam Shirley. If I had only known before…"

Shirley quickly turned to the boy and shook her head. "I understand Naruto. I am not angry with you. You were only doing what you thought to be right at the time. Your heart was focused entirely on saving Shana's life, and I cannot fault you for that." Returning her gaze to Drake once more, Shirley smiled sadly and once more wished she could shed tears. "At least give Drake a proper burial here in the shrine. He deserves at least that much before you go."

Naruto nodded and quietly lifted Drake's body in his arms. "Guys, Shirley…I'm going to take Drake and dig a proper grave for him. I'll catch up to you guys when I'm done." Before they could even say anything, Naruto leaped off somewhere and disappeared out of sight.

Dart looked in the direction Naruto had disappeared in before turning to Shirley. "We can save Shana with this! Thank you Madam Shirley."

Turning to him, Shirley spoke to the Red-Eyed Dragoon once again. "Dart, gazing at the truth may sometimes bring pain, but you will be able to overcome it." Seeing the kind man nod his head in response, the spirit of Shirley turned to Rose and began to disappear in a brilliant flash of light. "Farewell Rose. I am looking forward to the date our roads cross again."

As soon as the light cleared, Dart glanced about as Lavitz moved about, clearly looking for any sign of the woman. "Shirley!?"

Rose waved her hand idly and turned away. "She is simply heading to the place where she belongs. Pay it no mind."

Dart nodded in understanding before he too glanced away. "Let's go. Shana is waiting for us. Naruto will catch up to us once he is done."

Lavitz frowned at that and looked off in the direction Naruto had gone. "I hate just leaving him like this, though." Sighing, the knight of Bale finally nodded in agreement with Dart. "But you are right, we need to return to Lohan…Konoha…whatever it's even called now, and save Shana's life. Let us be on our way."

As Dart and Lavitz began down the stairs, Rose remained behind and stared up into the sky where Shirley had vanished. For a time, she appeared to be just lost in thought. After a short while however, she turned and glanced out the same way the others had just moments before. _Naruto. What did Shirley see inside your heart? Just what happened to you in your past to make you the way you are now I wonder?_ Shaking her head free of such thoughts, the Darkness Dragoon turned and made her way after her friends.

_**Short time later – Entrance of Shirley's Shrine**_

When they arrived at the entrance of the Shrine of Shirley, the group was surprised to see Naruto standing there waiting for them. Quickly approaching him, they looked at him and waited for him to speak. When the boy finally did, he sounded almost depressed. "I buried him someplace where he'll always be able to watch over the shrine and where I felt Shirley would always be able to watch over his resting place. I feel terrible for killing him, but…"

Shaking his head, the ninja looked into the eyes of his friends before withdrawing a few items and handing them over. "I checked out the room at the top of the shrine. I'm not sure, but I think they'd want you guys to have these things." The blonde genin handed over a pouch of gold and a Healing Breeze to Dart and Lavitz before stepping over to Rose and holding out a blade for her to take. "I think you could probably use this better than anyone here Rose-chan. Hope it helps."

Rose glanced down at the Demon's Stiletto and took it into her hands. Giving it a few practice swings, she shrugged and nodded in acceptance. "I'll take good care of it Naruto. But…" Seeing him looking into her eyes at the 'But', Rose reached up and patted him atop his head. "You need to cheer up. Come, let's return to the village, heal Shana, and get you something to eat. You did good Naruto."

Dart and Lavitz began to look at Rose as if she had grown a second head or something, but with one quick glare from the Darkness Dragoon, they quickly stopped and turned around, starting the trek back to Konoha-Lohan. Once they were gone, she looked back into Naruto's eyes and smiled softly. "And…thank you Naruto." Sighing, not sure if she was going to regret what she was about to do or not, the raven-haired beauty parted Naruto's bangs and placed a light kiss on his forehead before walking off, leaving him standing their dumbfounded for a while until she yelled at him to hurry up or be left behind. _Damn kid, bringing out my soft side. Even if it's just for a moment, it's still annoying._

_**Konoha-Lohan, two days later**_

The trek back to the village was a relatively peaceful one, bar the occasional random battle with monsters here and there. The distance normally wouldn't have been so great in Dart's world, but seeing as how the worlds were still in the process of merging together, the distance appeared to have increased somewhat over the time they had been gone. Regardless, they found their way back just fine and quickly hurried their way towards the hospital where Shana was staying.

Upon reaching the room Shana was staying in, both Sanator and a medic nin hurried over to see if they were successful in their search. "Did you find a Dragoni Plant!?" Sanator asked quickly, eager to hurry up and help his patient.

Dart shook his head in the negative before the group walked into the room and over to Shana's bedside. Naruto held back with Lavitz and Rose while Dart held up the White-Silver Dragoon Spirit they had obtained from Shirley. "But with this…." Moving closer to Shana, the Red-Eyed Dragoon laid the Dragoon Spirit upon Shana's chest and took a step back. "We should be able to save her."

As Dart looked to Lavitz, Rose, and Naruto and nodded, preparing to use his Dragoon Spirit to restore Shana, he couldn't help but jump when Sanator shouted out, "What!?"

Quickly spinning around, Dart's eyes widened considerably as he saw the Dragoon Spirit glowing brightly atop Shana. "Wh…What!?"

Lavitz blinked in confusion for a time before stepping forward to Dart's side. "I thought the power couldn't be released without the help from another spirit. That's how Rose explained it to us on our return trip anyways. So…what's going on?"

After a bright flash of light, the group saw Shana sit upright and glance around in confusion for but a moment. "Shana!" Dart shouted, clearly happy beyond expression that she was awake!

Glancing at the glowing orb that now rested on her lap, Shana spoke quietly. "Dart…what is this?"

"It's the Dragoon Spirit of the White Silver Dragon." Then suddenly it dawned on him. Spinning around, he looked into Lavitz's eyes and then at Rose. "I wonder. Could Shana possibly be…!?"

Lavitz picked up on his train of thought and spun around to face Rose as well. "A Dragoon!"

Rose nodded and turned away. "Yes. Otherwise, this much power wouldn't be drawn. Shana purged the poison with her own power."

The group turned back to watch as Sanator performed some quick tests, the medic nin doing the same. Soon, the good doctor turned and looked at the group. "It's true. Her spirit is back in her body. The poison is completely gone now!" Seeing the medic nin nod to confirm this analysis, the group breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Once more Shana spoke, still incredibly confused by the whole situation. "Dart…. What is going on?"

Dart nodded to the others and they each withdrew their own Dragoon Spirits one by one. As usual, the Spirits resonated with each other, each glowing brightly enough that the non-Dragoons had to shield their eyes lest they fear going blind! "I don't know if it is a coincidence or fate, but you were saved with this power, Shana. Do you feel it? This is the power of the Dragon…the Dragoon."

As Dart, Lavitz, and Rose put away their Dragoon Spirits, Shana's Spirit began to glow ever brighter as she nodded her head. "Yes, I feel it. The warm power of a Dragon…. Not only powerful, but very tender at the same time."

Sanator, clearly having a difficult time of things, decided it was time to speak before things got even worse for the non-Dragoons in the room. "Ex-Excuse me! It's too bright and I cannot see! Can you please do something about this!?"

Shana's cheeks took on a slight tinge of pink as she jumped. "Oh! So sorry!" She quickly stuffed away the Dragoon Spirit and patted herself down after the light faded.

"Can you get up?" Dart asked softly.

Shana slowly slid herself off of the hospital bed and landed lightly on her feet before spinning around and smiling at Dart. "See? I'm fine now!"

Dart nodded his head before turning to Sanator and the medic nin. "Doctors…. About all of this, I don't know what to say."

Sanator simply chuckled and shrugged his old shoulders. "I wouldn't understand even if you told me. It's enough just seeing a miracle with my own eyes! It was worth waiting this long!" Turning away to stare out the window at the strange new village he now lived in, the old doctor nodded his head. "And…I don't need any kind of reward. All I ask is that you find a way to end this damned war quickly. That'll do it for me."

Naruto and the medic-nin didn't quite understand what they were talking about when they mentioned a war, but decided it was best not to ask. Instead they decided to simply remain quiet and listen to the Dragoons and Sanator speak.

Dart decided to help reassure the good doctor Sanator and allay his fears. "There is no more threat from the Dragon. The rest will be taken care of by King Albert soon enough."

Sanator nodded and lost himself in thought for but a moment before turning back to Dart. "Hmm. You say you defeated that Dragon, correct?" Looking Dart up and down, the doctor found himself smiling. "You may just win your way through to a good level. Wait…" Thinking on it a moment, Sanator voiced more of his opinion. "Not only that… You might actually be able to win the title of the strongest in the world!"

Once more, Naruto and the medic nin felt completely lost in this conversation and wondered if they should even remain in the room any longer. Still, Naruto couldn't help but wonder just what the hell Doctor Sanator was even talking about. _Strongest in the world? Dart's tough, and I know the four of them beat a pretty powerful Dragon, but…isn't that a bit much?_

Dart seemed just as confused though as he turned to Lavitz. "The strongest in the world?"

As Dart turned back to Sanator, the doctor found himself grinning. "So, are you interested?" Without waiting for a response, the old gentleman continued speaking. "Well, something called the Hero Competition was to begin today. However, with all that's happened, what with our worlds merging, it has been postponed until everything can be sorted out. My point holds though. Daredevils are coming from all over the world to compete with their brawn and brains. If you are interested, go to the Arena in a few weeks. I am looking forward to seeing the match." Nodding his head at that, the doctor left the room.

Watching as the doctor left the room, Naruto then turned his attention to his new friends. "It sounds like this Hero Competition will begin after the Chunin Exams are over. If you guys would like to, you're more than welcome to come watch those. I'm in the first fight against Neji Hyuga, and I'd like it if you were there to cheer me on." Rubbing the back of his head, the blonde genin then turned to Shana and smiled brightly at her. "I'm glad you've recovered Shana-chan." Bowing to her, Naruto moved to the window and prepared to leap out. "I need to go deliver my report to Jiji. If you need me for anything, just head to the Hokage Tower and ask Jiji, er…Hokage-sama, about my whereabouts. I'll be training for this next week until the beginning of the finals. Sooo…see ya!" And before anyone could say a word, Naruto was gone, leaping across rooftops on his way to see his Jiji.

Shana, still confused by everything that had taken place, turned to the others. "Um, guys? Just what happened while I was out?"

Dart chuckled nervously before deciding on where to begin. "I supposed we'd best start at the beginning, after you collapsed in the Dragon's lair." Seeing her nod, the Red-Eyed Dragoon went into the long explanation of the events that had taken place, leading up to this moment.

_**One week later – Chunin Exam Stadium**_

Dart's group had managed to make their way to the stadium so that they could watch Naruto's fights. They were all eager to see him win his way through to the top, as they each knew he could. Sitting together, looking down at their spiky-haired friend, Shana spoke up and voiced something each knew she had been wanting since she had awakened. "I really hope I get to meet him soon. I haven't been able to thank him yet for helping to save my life. Every time we asked the Hokage about Naruto, we were told he couldn't be disturbed."

Nodding his head, Dart folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. "I understand how you feel. The three of us never truly thanked him yet either. Without him, I don't think we would have saved you the way we did. We owe him a great debt."

Lavitz agreed and stared down at his friend that now stood in a line of other fierce-looking competitors in the ring. "I'm looking forward to seeing how much he's improved over the past week. Naruto may not be a Dragoon, but he's got the spirit of one of us and he's proven that. I would love to take him back with us to meet King Albert and Mother. I'm sure they would really like that."

Chuckling softly to himself, Dart nudged his friend in the ribs. "You've grown really fond of him, haven't you Lavitz?"

The knight chuckled and nodded his head. "I won't deny it. Naruto Uzumaki has grown on me. I hope to have a long friendship with the boy."

Dart nodded his agreement before they glanced at Rose. She had been quiet all this time as she stared intently down at Naruto. Shrugging their shoulders, Dart, Lavitz, and Shana all lost themselves in conversation while the Darkness Dragoon lost herself to her thoughts. _You'd better not lose a single fight Naruto Uzumaki. I want to see you succeed and advance in rank. But more than that, I won't forgive you if you _do _lose. Not after everything that happened at Shirley's Shrine._

_**Meanwhile, in the ring**_

Naruto couldn't help but glance around him at the other competitors. There were still two missing from the line-up and he couldn't help but frown at that. _I don't care if Dosu shows up or not, but where the hell is Sasuke? He's not the kind to miss this._

Releasing an inaudible sigh, the blonde looked into the stands at this point and spotted numerous people that he figured were from the other world. It made sense, he thought. After all, they would naturally be just as curious about the people of this world as the inhabitants of Naruto's world were about them. Sadly, there were far too many people and he couldn't spot his new friends anywhere. _I'm sure they're here, but there's no way I'm going to spot them from down here._

Shrugging, Naruto turned to face the proctor when he told them to listen for a moment. Glancing at the roster Genma now held before them, Naruto couldn't help but notice that Dosu's name was missing. _Well, looks like Shikamaru's got it a little easier now at least. That's good for him. Still, I didn't expect that guy to drop out. So, question is: what happened to him?_

Shaking his head clear of that thought, Naruto listened as Genma told the other competitors to leave the ring as he proceeded to announce the first fight: Naruto vs. Neji. Watching as Neji moved to stand across from him, Naruto eyed him carefully and moved his hand to his kunai pouch, quickly fiddling with a couple of kunai in preparation for the beginning of the fight. As soon as Genma told them to begin, Naruto quickly flung two kunai in quick succession at his opponent in an attempt to test the waters a bit.

Neji quickly drew a kunai of his own and deflected the kunai before activating his Byakugan (White Eye) and taking his battle stance, the Juken (Gentle Fist). "I will say this only once Naruto Uzumaki. Fate has decreed that I shall be the victor today. If you are smart, you would give up now."

At this, Naruto couldn't help but facepalm and shake his head. "Yep, that's the Neji I remember from the prelims. Still a hopeless prick, aren't you Hyuga-boy? When it comes to a fight like this, 'fate' doesn't decide anything. But go ahead and believe in your little delusions. 'Fate' is what led me to meeting Dart and his friends. 'Fate' is what led our two worlds to being merged. But 'fate' has absolutely nothing to do with our match Neji. So do everyone a favor and shut up, fight, and accept your ass-kicking like a man." Seeing a twitch of Neji's lips, the blonde grinned and nodded his head. "Good to see I can get a reaction. Now, prepare yourself Hyuga! I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Hinata-chan!"

With this said, Naruto quickly performed the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and had his clones surround the Byakugan-user. As they each readied kunai or Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere), the real Naruto looked hatefully into Neji's eyes and cracked his fists. "What you did to her was unforgiveable. She's your cousin and she clearly looks up to you, but I can't fathom why that is. Still, despite how I feel, I won't kill you. What I _will_ do is kick your ass so bad you won't be able to walk for a week! You need to feel the kind of pain she felt in your preliminary fight with her!"

Neji's mouth twitched again, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he quickly ducked under an attack from behind, quickly jabbing upwards with two fingers, dispelling the first of the clones that had come for him. Spinning around, he redirected the attack of another Naruto and prepared to dispel it, only for the Rasengan in its hand to spiral wildly out of control and explode in his face. Clearly not expecting this, Neji was caught off guard and sent tumbling backwards, dust kicking up in his wake. Rising to his feet, the Hyuga glanced at the area he had been and frowned. _That was no accident. He did that on purpose!_

_**In the stands – Dart's Group**_

Dart nodded his head appreciatively and let a pleased smirk cross his face. "He's doing rather well. After what we went through to rescue Shana, I'm glad to see he's doing better. But…"

Lavitz nodded and voiced the rest of what Dart was thinking. "We don't know the full capabilities of his opponent yet. Just because he's fighting well so far doesn't mean he's in the clear yet."

Shana frowned at that and slowly nodded her head. "You may be right, but I know he'll win. If Naruto's really as tough as you say he is, I'm sure of it. I just can't help wondering who this Hinata is and what her cousin did to her."

At that, a couple of young ninja ahead of them turned around and stared curiously at the group of four sitting just behind them. "You guys know Naruto?"

Dart quirked a brow and looked into the eyes of the scruffy-looking boy that had voiced his question. Slowly nodding his head, Dart responded softly. "Yes. Naruto helped us save Shana's life. We owe him a lot."

Kiba smirked at that and nudged his female friend lightly. "Hear that Hinata? It seems Naruto's been doing pretty well for himself this past month. Bet you're glad to hear that, huh?" Seeing his friend and teammate blushing a bit, the dog-boy smiled brightly and turned to the people behind him again. "I'm glad Naruto managed to help you guys out. He kicked my butt in the preliminary rounds and I wouldn't forgive him if he went and slacked off after something like that."

Shana looked into Hinata's eyes at this point and smiled sweetly. "So you're Hinata? I bet it must feel nice having your boyfriend fighting for your sake, right?"

Hinata's face became even redder at this point and she quickly began to fidget around as she stumbled over her words in an attempt to say something. When Kiba spoke up for her, she was both grateful and kind of upset with him for what he said.

Waving his hand idly, Kiba shook his head. "They aren't together like that Miss. I'm starting to wonder if he even notices how Hinata feels about him." With a shrug of his shoulders, he glanced into Hinata's face and felt a cold chill of death creeping down his spine. "H-Hinata? What'd I do?"

Hinata sighed before looking back down at her hands. "Kiba-kun's right; Naruto-kun isn't my boyfriend…yet. But I'm happy that he's at least thinking of me…"

Shana frowned and quickly moved close enough to give the younger woman a hug. Patting her back, she grinned and spoke quietly to her so only Hinata would hear her. "Just give it time. You'll get your man, I'm sure of it. I'm still trying to get mine to open up to me a little more. If only he could just accept my feelings already, I'd be more than happy." Seeing that her words seemed to cheer Hinata up a bit, Shana smiled at her and soon lost herself in conversation with her new friend as they kept an eye on the fight taking place below.

Rose, meanwhile, paid them a quick glance and frowned a moment. _This girl is clearly unwell. Whatever this Neji did to her has taken quite the toll on her body. If it gets worse, Shana may have to heal her._ Turning her gaze to Naruto once more, Rose narrowed her eyes and watched him engage Neji in a close quarters fight. They were easily evading one another's blows, with the two only suffering minor, glancing strikes every once in a while. _I still don't know just what kind of power you hold inside of you Naruto, but you are at the very least, a _good_ person and I respect you for that. Now show the fools that have misjudged you for so long what you're made of._

_**Elsewhere in the audience**_

A strange silver-haired man sat in one of the top rows, looking down upon the two combatants in the ring with a calculating gaze. This man had arrived at the stadium earlier than most and found what he decided would be a good place to watch the fights today. However, his reasons for doing this weren't just to enjoy a good show; they were for something else entirely.

This man was one from the other world and he clearly did not look pleased with anything at the moment. _This world is so different from my own. I worried that there might be potential threats to my plans amongst these warriors, but from what I've seen thus far, they're even more pathetic than some of those I've seen in my world. Still, I cannot rule anything out just yet. All I can do is sit, watch, and wait for now._

Frowning at the thought of having to be bored further by these matches, the man leaned back and stared scornfully at the blonde boy in the ring. _You could, at the very least, show me something interesting you self-righteous idiot. I want to see what you 'ninja' are capable of._

Right as the man thought this, he was certainly caught off guard. Leaning forward in his seat, he watched as the blonde inhaled a moment before releasing a great fireball from his mouth at the Hyuga boy. _Well that _is_ interesting. Do show me more._

_**Naruto & Neji**_

Naruto cursed as Neji used his Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven) technique to stop his Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) cold. Deciding to try a different tactic, Naruto quickly switched himself out with a clone and hid himself underground for the time being.

Sensing Neji's movements above him, the blonde genin waited for the moment when his opponent would dispel his clone to strike at him from behind. As soon as the memory of Neji's attack entered his mind, signifying his clone had indeed been destroyed, Naruto emerged from behind the Hyuga and threw a punch at the back of his head. Sadly, his attack didn't land and he was soon sent flying back by the same technique Neji had used just seconds ago.

Groaning, Naruto rose to his feet and rubbed his head, trying to soothe the pain he felt. "Ugh. Damn it. I really thought that attack would work. I guess you really can see virtually 360 degrees, can't you?" Glancing into his opponent's face, Naruto just noticed the new stance he had taken and cursed under his breath.

"Finally Naruto Uzumaki. You are within my field of divination. This fight is over." And with that, Neji moved forward and began his attack.

With no means of defending himself at such close quarters and with Neji moving as such a speed, Naruto could only mutter a few short words. "Well shit."

**A/N: Here's chapter 2 of The Legend of Naruto! Again, I do hope you enjoy the story so far, and I hope you are looking forward to more.**

**I think I forgot to address this last time, so I wanted to mention it now. As you can no doubt tell, Naruto is actually quite intelligent in this fic. He also has the Rasengan earlier than in canon, and he's also using Katon jutsu, as you can see from this chapter. I have also mentioned in the fic already that he is a sensor-type in this fic. I like to try and change things up with each fic and mold Naruto's character into something different every time. Again, if you happen to have any questions regarding anything else, please leave a review or send me a PM and I'll respond ASAP.**

**Finally, it's about dang time came back up! lol. Been waiting for a couple of hours already. I finished this chapter up earlier and when I went to upload it, POOF! ffn was dooooown. Sooo...yeah. lol.**

**Anyways, look forward to the next new fic that's coming up next. The next fic is actually a challenge presented to me by a friend of mine: Dragon and Sword Master. I told him I'd take it and see what I could do with it some time back, but it's taken me quite some time to actually get to it. Regardless of the setbacks, I hope you all are looking forward to the challenge fic and enjoy that as much as you've enjoyed my current stories in progress. ^^ **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – Dangerous Fights & the Death of a Hokage!**

"Two Palms. Four Palms. Eight Palms." Naruto heard Neji saying such things, but unfortunately he was in too much pain to really give a crap about the damn numbers. When the last strike came, the young blonde felt the pain coursing throughout his body as he was sent flying across the field, crashing into the ground _painfully_. "**Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!**" The Hyuga announced, but in truth, Naruto Uzumaki still didn't care. The attack was _incredibly_ painful and he was feeling awful.

"This is the end, Naruto Uzumaki. You will not be able to continue the fight. If you try to stand up, I will not hesitate to end you. Say that you forfeit." Neji stated as he glared at his downed opponent. The Hyuga was _not_ happy that he had been forced to play his trump card against such an unworthy opponent. If the blonde decided to stand, Neji was prepared to stop his heart and kill the younger male.

_**Silver-Haired Man**_

Sitting back in his seat, the mystery man sighed and shook his head in disappointment. _Clearly I expected too much from you Naruto Uzumaki._ Shrugging his shoulders, the man closed his eyes, at least until he sensed something somewhere else in the stands. Glancing around, what he saw had him smirking. _Interesting. I had not expected to see Dragoons here of all places._ Chuckling to himself, the silver-haired man decided that coming here _had_ been worth his time after all.

_**The Dragoons, Kiba, & Hinata**_

Hinata Hyuga's eyes widened as she watched her beloved Naruto being struck by one of the Hyuga clan's most powerful techniques. The shock of it all caused her to have a relapse of sorts and she began coughing terribly, specks of blood occasionally hitting her hands as she tried to politely cover her mouth.

Kiba looked on worriedly, not sure just what he could do for his teammate. As he went to say something, he noticed a glow coming from behind the Hyuga heiress. Looking back, his eyes widened as he watched the woman known as Shana focusing on something clutched in her hands. After a moment, the glow became so bright that he was forced to cover his eyes for fear of going blind!

Rose watched Shana with a small smirk playing at her lips. _She knew instinctively what to do. I had thought, perhaps, I would have to instruct her in what to do, but she's doing well. The girl should be better in just a few moments._

True to the Dark Dragoon's assessment, Shana had managed to heal all the internal damage within her new friend. Tapping Hinata's shoulder, the Light Dragoon smiled brightly and gave the girl in front of her a hug. "Are you feeling better now Hinata?"

Hinata blinked in shock for a few moments before she slowly nodded her head. "I…I feel a _lot_ better now. How…?"

Shana shook her head and grinned as she pointed down towards the fight. "You're going to miss the rest of the fight if you don't pay attention. In short, I healed you. I…don't really understand it, but it just suddenly _came_ to me. I knew what to do and did it. I'm just glad you're better now Hinata."

Hinata smiled at her new friend before she returned her gaze to the fight. What she saw shocked her greatly. "N-Naruto-kun…"

_**Naruto & Neji**_

True enough, things down in the arena were becoming quite interesting. The blonde combatant was chuckling to himself as he slowly rose, standing shakily on his feet. As Neji rushed towards him to deal a finishing blow on his stubborn opponent, the blonde closed his eyes and quickly slipped around the Hyuga prodigy, slamming the back of his hand against the boy's head and knocking him forward.

Taking a few deep, yet _shaky_ breaths, the blonde opened his blue eyes and smirked at his opponent. "I'm not going to give up _Neji_. You _really_ hurt Hinata-chan, and I'm not going to stop until I've defeated you. Besides, I'm not out for the count yet. Just watch." With a smirk, the blonde Uzumaki took another deep breath and began to focus hard. _Okay you stupid fox, give me just a bit of your chakra. I don't need much, just enough to beat this punk!_

Neji found himself smirking at this point as he folded his arms across his chest. "What do you think you're doing? I have closed your tenketsu, you can't access your chakra you idiot."

Naruto Uzumaki didn't listen to Neji's words, or any of the mocking that came after. Instead, he finally felt what he was aiming for. In an instant, the whiskered Jinchuriki felt a powerful chakra surging through his body, repairing the damage that had been done and filling his chakra pathways to the brim. Opening his eyes, the blonde smirked at his opponent and took his taijutsu stance. "You were saying _Neji_?"

Quickly activating his Byakugan, what Neji saw shocked him to the point he couldn't speak a single word. There was a strange sort of demonic chakra the likes of which he hadn't seen before! If he had to admit it, this chakra _scared_ the Hyuga prodigy. As he began to sweat, Neji Hyuga prepared himself for the second round of combat against Naruto Uzumaki.

_**Silver-Haired Man**_

Upon seeing this strange turn of events, the mystery man's eyes widened considerably. Leaning forward in his seat, the man felt a few drops of sweat begin to trickle down the back of his neck. _This can't be possible! Just what the hell _is_ this power he's exuding?! What _are_ you Naruto Uzumaki?!_

Watching as this strange energy swirled around the arena, whipping up dust, leaves, twigs and the like, the silver-haired man just continued to watch the fight taking place below. What was happening with this boy _definitely_ had the man concerned. _Maybe some people in this world _could_ prove to be a threat after all…_

_**The Dragoons, Hinata, and Kiba**_

Staring in shock at the scene below, Kiba leaned forward and watched Naruto Uzumaki intently. "What the hell is going on down there?! What the heck is this power?!"

Hinata shook her head. She felt just as clueless as her teammate and didn't even _try_ to formulate a theory. Instead, she simply felt like smiling. "I…I don't know Kiba-kun. I'm just glad he's alright. Naruto-kun has a chance to win now!"

Dart and Lavitz were leaning forward in their seats, clearly taken aback by this strange turn of events. "Did you know he was capable of this?!" Dart asked Lavitz. When the knight of Bale shook his head to show he had no idea, the Red-Eyed Dragoon looked back down at Naruto and shook his head. "This energy doesn't feel _human_. Wait…"

At this point, Rose nodded her head and decided to speak her mind. "Yes. _This_ is the power that connected our worlds. Our friend, Naruto Uzumaki, has power enough to rival that of the Dragons. Or…perhaps he is even stronger than that? I cannot say for sure."

Her fellow Dragoons' eyes widened, clearly in shock at this information. The three of them turned back to watch the fight below. "S-Should we perhaps be _concerned_?" Shana asked, clearly feeling nervous about this strange power her savior was exuding.

Lavitz shook his head. "No. Naruto helped us a great deal. He may hold some kind of power we haven't experienced before, but I trust him! I don't care what happens, or if it turns out that his power is truly _evil_, I like Naruto. He's a good kid, a good person, and a good friend."

Dart smirked at this and nodded his head in agreement. "I agree. I'll admit that I'm…_shocked_ at this strange turn of events, but I'm proud to know such a strong individual personally. No matter what, I'm choosing to stand by our friend."

The Darkness Dragoon found herself chuckling at this as she folded her arms across her chest and closed her eyes. "Well said, both of you. I'll admit, I've been…_doubtful_ of Naruto, even _suspicious_ of him for some time, but…" Sighing, Rose allowed a soft smile to grace her features. "Now that I've seen the truth…I'm actually kind of…_happy_."

At this, Dart and Lavitz began giving Rose a look that showed they were feeling just a tad freaked out by this strange revelation. Glaring their way, the Dark Dragoon smirked devilishly. "Do you two _want_ me to hurt you? Stop giving me that look, it's rude." Seeing them nod in compliance, Rose chuckled to herself before returning her gaze to Naruto. "He _is_ a friend, and he's a good person, as you said. I…_trust_ him." As the others smiled at this, they all watched the fight taking place below.

_**Naruto & Neji**_

Once he was ready, the blonde Jinchuriki gave his opponent a cocky smirk before he disappeared from sight. Neji watched in horror as his opponent appeared at his side and unleashed another powerful Katon jutsu. _His speed has increased from before! This is bad!_

The Hyuga quickly used his Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven) once again to block the attack. Unfortunately for him, this is _exactly_ what his opponent wanted him to do. As soon as the attack was finished, Naruto appeared just inches from him and punched Neji _hard_ in the chest.

As the air was knocked from the boy's lungs, his blonde opponent spun on his heel and kicked Neji in the back, sending him flying forward. Before the Hyuga prodigy could hit the wall, another Naruto appeared in front of him and kicked him up into the air. It had become a kind of juggling act with Neji being tossed about like a rag doll!

Once Neji was at the top of his ascent, Naruto appeared above him and grinned as he looked into Neji's white eyes. "This is going to hurt, but you'll live at least. Sorry _Neji_, but this serves you right for what you did!" And with that, Naruto spun in the air and kicked the Hyuga boy hard in the chest, sending him crashing back down into the ground at quite the incredible speed.

Landing a short distance from his opponent, Naruto allowed the Kyuubi's chakra to recede back into the seal before he took a few steps forward. Once the dust cleared, the Uzumaki watched as Neji struggled hard to try and stand, but ultimately failed in the end and rolled onto his back, the pain becoming more unbearable by the second. "Neji, before you are taken away, you should know something."

Seeing Neji look his way, Naruto sighed and knelt down by him, gently patting the Hyuga's head. "I don't know what you've been through in the past, and I'm not sure what exactly you've lost, but you shouldn't take it out on Hinata-chan. She cares about you and even looks up to you. It's obvious to me that you hold a lot of anger for the Hyuga's Main Branch, but holding it all in is just going to hurt you in the long run. Believe me, I'd know…"

Sighing to himself, the blonde closed his eyes and chuckled softly to himself. Neji looked on curiously, his expression softening as he waited for the victor of the fight to continue. "I haven't had the easiest life myself Neji. I never had a family, and I didn't have a lot of friends growing up. Most of the villagers _still_ hate me for something that was taken out of my control the night I was born. But, the few friends I have, and the few friends that I've made…they helped me realize that hatred was _not_ the answer. If I hadn't met them, I'm not sure what I'd be like now."

Neji frowned at this and closed his eyes, nodding in acceptance of that. "I see. You are a good man Uzumaki. I…apologize for my actions." Opening his eyes again, Neji watched as Naruto smiled down at him before the Hyuga was rushed off on a stretcher.

Rising to his feet, the blonde Jinchuriki turned to the proctor, Genma Shiranui, who announced Naruto at the winner of the first battle. Smiling at this, Naruto prepared to return to the competitor's waiting area, only for him to suddenly pause at an unfamiliar sound. Looking up, he spotted virtually _everyone_ in the audience _applauding_ him for his victory.

Unable to formulate words or even _comprehend_ what was going on, Naruto almost jumped when the proctor placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did good Naruto. Congratulations. Go on and wave to your fans, but don't take too long; I do have to announce the next fight after all." Smirking down at the young blonde, the proctor took a step back and allowed the winner of the first match to wave up at the cheering audience.

As he waved at everyone, the blonde slowly made his way towards the stairs that led up to the waiting area. He knew that somewhere up in the stands was his teammate, Sakura Haruno, as well as many of his friends. This, of course, included his Dragoon friends and, quite possibly, Hinata Hyuga herself. _I hope you feel better now Hinata-chan. I don't think Neji will be such a jerk anymore. Hopefully you can repair your relationship with him and become a proper family now._

_**The Dragoons, Kiba, & Hinata**_

Kiba was cheering loudly, pumping his fist into the air as he screamed out his congratulations to his friend. "Hell yeah! Way to go Naruto! Great job kicking that guy's ass! Yeaaaaaah!"

Dart and Lavitz yelled out their friend's name as well, happy to see he had won his first fight. "Way to go Naruto! You did a great job! Congratulations!" If they could have, they would have likely run to their friend and slapped him on the shoulders in congratulations. It had been a great fight and they were very pleased with him for his victory.

Shana was hugging Hinata from behind and giggling happily with her. "So, how does it feel knowing he won the fight for youuu Hinata-chan?"

The Hyuga heiress was blushing brightly as she giggled nervously. "You shouldn't t-tease me so much Shana-san. But…I am happy. Naruto-kun is a wonderful person, and I'm glad he's alright. I'm so happy he won!"

The Light Dragoon grinned at that and nodded her head. "I am too. Naruto was very impressive, and I'm looking forward to seeing more from him." Nodding together, Shana and Hinata continued conversing with one another excitedly as the crowd around them cheered for Naruto more and more.

Rose, meanwhile, was smirking to herself as she closed her eyelids once again. _Well done Naruto. I'm impressed with not only your victory, but with your kind heart. Despite how you felt towards your opponent, you treated him with the respect worthy of a powerful opponent. But more than that, you even tried to _help_ him in the end and set him on the right path. I'm very glad I got to meet you Naruto Uzumaki._

Lavitz suddenly found himself smirking at he looked into his best friend's face. "So, Dart…" As the others around him looked his way, the Jade Dragoon found himself grinning more. "Still want Naruto to join the Hero Competition coming up? He might end up beating you, you know?"

Dart chuckled at this and nodded his head. "He could very well pull off a victory if he and I get to meet in combat. However, I will not let that deter me. I _do_ still wish for Naruto to join the Hero Competition, and I hope that the two of us _do_ get to meet in battle. It would be a good fight, and a great test of my abilities. I want to see how I measure up."

Chuckling at that, the two friends nodded in appreciation of that thought before they began hearing something strange. Glancing around, the group of six listened as the crowd cheered Sasuke's name. Glancing down into the arena, they saw the Uchiha's opponent, Gaara, waiting in the ring. However, Sasuke himself had yet to show up!

Rose frowned at this and shook her head. "How quickly these people change their tone. It's almost as if Naruto's fight means nothing to them, despite their cheering just moments ago. If this 'Sasuke' is so special, why has he yet to show up? If this were a competition in our world, he would have already been disqualified by now."

Kiba snarled a bit at the crowd's behavior before turning to explain to his new friends. "Sasuke is the 'last Uchiha', and is therefore very respected by not only the villagers of Konoha, but by people from the other hidden villages as well. As such, he has turned into an arrogant jackass that seems to think the world revolves around him. A lot of us can't stand him _or_ all the attention he gets. The worst of it is all his damn fan girls!"

Shana found herself frowning at this as she looked around at everybody still chanting Sasuke's name. "How can people like this Sasuke so much if he's truly such a horrible person? How can they not see him for what he is?"

Hinata shook her head at this and looked down at her hands. "I-I'm not sure Shana-san. I can't understand what all those girls see in him either for that matter. He has never paid them any attention, he's spurned their advances, despite how dedicated they are to him, and he's been so rude to not only them, but to Naruto-kun and the others as well. Sasuke thinks he's better than everybody and doesn't really show anybody any _real_ respect."

Lavitz frowned and shook his head as he closed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "If he's such a horrible person, then he shouldn't even be allowed to participate in this competition. But more than that, this Sasuke Uchiha should not even have become a ninja in the first place. It sounds like he doesn't know the meaning of the word 'teamwork'. As far as I understand it, teamwork is essential to your teams, and without it, your missions could be put in jeopardy. Do I have that right?"

Kiba nodded and sighed angrily to himself as he clenched and unclenched his fists. "Yeah, you got that right Lavitz-san. Sadly, I think that if Sasuke had been failed, the Council AND the villagers would've thrown a fit. But…more importantly than that, Naruto would have failed as well. After all, Naruto and Sasuke are on the same team…"

Rose scoffed at this and shook her head in mild amusement. "The fates truly have a twisted sense of humor then. I pity Naruto for having to put up with such a stuck-up brat." As the others nodded their agreement, the Dark Dragoon listened as an announcement was made by the proctor. "So, instead of disqualifying the Uchiha, they are postponing his match until the other first round matches have been completed. Tch."

Dart scowled at this and shook his head. "I can't believe these people would show such special favor to a brat that can't even show up on time to his own match. What the hell is wrong with these people?!"

Hinata sighed softly and shook her head again. "We…we really don't know Dart-san. It's always been this way though for as long as we can remember. There's really nothing we can do about it but accept it." Shrugging her shoulders lightly, the Hyuga heiress looked down at the ring. It turned out that the next fight was forfeited immediately upon announcement by Kankuro, making her teammate, Shino Aburame, the winner by default. This only served to enrage the crowd and they began booing. This, of course, only further enraged the six companions.

"Sometimes I _really_ hate these people. I swear all they care about is their precious 'Sasuke-kun' sometimes. Bastards." Kiba said before he began grumbling angrily.

Dart and Lavitz couldn't help but nod their agreement as they watched the next combatants enter the ring. These two were called Shikamaru Nara and Temari. The Nara's entrance was less than spectacular, but at least it was amusing.

As the group of six watched the fight take place below them in the ring, they couldn't help but appreciate the match for what it was: a battle between two geniuses of different villages. Despite the fact that Shikamaru forfeited in the end and gave the match to Temari, it was still a victory for him. The Dragoons couldn't help but appreciate his abilities and each agreed that he truly deserved to be promoted for such a spectacular showing.

Sadly, the crowd booed at the result and the group of six was back to being frustrated with the idiots around them. "Seriously? Can't these people ever just shut the hell up?!"

_**Silver-Haired Man**_

The mystery man had grown just as frustrated with the crowd and wanted nothing more than to shut them all up. However, he didn't want to simply slaughter the ignorant masses. After all, it would be detrimental to his plans; he couldn't just go and reveal himself before everything had come to fruition after all, could he?

After the first fight had finished, the silver-haired man found himself feeling ever more curious about the boy known as Naruto Uzumaki. _You are one I will have to keep an eye on Uzumaki. If you continue to grow, you could very well pose a serious threat to my plans, and I can't have that._

Then came the, _technically,_ fourth battle in the first round of the competition. As the mystery man watched the fight, he found himself smirking somewhat. _Well, it looks like this Shikamaru Nara could also prove to be a bit of a threat. Despite his appearance and behavior, he's a tactical _genius._ You will require a watchful eye as well._

_**Naruto**_

As his friend, Shikamaru, returned to the waiting area, the blonde walked over and patted him on the back. "You did great Shikamaru! Even if you _did_ forfeit, I wouldn't be surprised if you made chunin with a performance like that."

The Nara looked horrified at the very _thought_ of such a thing. Looking into Naruto's eyes, the brown-haired boy shook his head. "That's _way_ too troublesome. Why do you think I quit Naruto?! I want to take it easy, not…not…_that_!"

At this, the blonde Uzumaki blinked a couple of times before tilting his head to the side and frowning. "Well that sucks. Ah well, doesn't matter. If you make chunin, I'll still be happy for ya Shikamaru."

Sighing to himself, Shikamaru Nara walked with Naruto Uzumaki over to the railing and looked down into the ring below. Gaara was back in the ring, waiting rather impatiently for his opponent. However, as they watched the Suna genin, the friends noticed something. "Is it just my imagination, or is he _looking_ at you, Naruto?"

The blonde shook his head and chuckled nervously. "I, uhh…I think he is. I wonder if I did something to piss him off." Looking at his friend, Naruto watched as his friend simply shrugged his shoulders in response. Sighing at this, the both of them returned their gaze to the arena floor below.

When Sasuke _finally_ appeared in the ring, Naruto and Shikamaru both sighed as the crowd erupted into cheers. "Sometimes I really hate these people." Shikamaru commented, clearly agitated that the people were such fans of someone that couldn't show them, or his opponent, any damn respect.

The blonde Jinchuriki nodded in agreement before leaning on the rail a bit. "I hear ya. I still don't see what these assholes see in the teme. It doesn't even look like Gaara's interested in fighting him at all. Can't say I really blame him, the teme didn't even have enough respect for Gaara to show up on time. That's pretty freaking insulting if you ask me." Shikamaru nodded his head in agreement as the both of them sighed and chose to just watch the fight together.

_**Silver-Haired Man**_

As the 'second' fight of the first round got underway, the silver-haired man frowned. The boy that had kept everyone waiting for so long really wasn't very impressive at all. Even after he unleashed that loud lightning-based attack, he was still incredibly pathetic. His opponent, on the other hand, was interesting to watch.

Gaara didn't move much, but that isn't what caught the mystery man's attention. The sand defense and attacks were the curiosity that intrigued him. _I have never seen anything like this before. It almost feels like this Gaara carries around an entire desert wherever he goes._

When Sasuke finally managed to wound Gaara, the silver-haired mystery man went wide-eyed as he began to feel a similar energy to what he felt earlier from Naruto! _It's not the same, but…what the hell _is_ this?! Will this one require watching as well?!_

_**The Dragoons, Kiba, & Hinata**_

"Aaand the bastard tries to look cool after arriving this late to his own match." Kiba complained as he facepalmed. Leaning back in his seat, the gruff boy looked at the ceiling and shook his head. "One, two, three…"

As soon as the Inuzuka boy finished counting to three, the crowd began cheering excitedly for their precious 'Sasuke-kun'. Hinata sighed at this and gently patted Kiba's hand. "Don't let it get to you Kiba-kun. There's nothing that we can do about it. Let's just watch the fight and hope it's over with quickly. I want to see Naruto-kun fight again."

Shana giggled at that and nodded her head. "It would be nice to see Naruto fight again, wouldn't it _Hinata_?" Poking the Hyuga girl in the ribs, the Light Dragoon giggled a little more before leaning in close and whispering to the girl. "Just imagine if he took you on a date after this. All dressed up, bringing you your favorite snack and a bouquet of your favorite flowers; as you go out on your date, he can't help but remark about how beautiful you look in your dress. And when it's all over, you _k-i-s-s _in the park under the moonlight. Would you like that Hinata?"

When the Hyuga heiress went the darkest red any of them had ever seen and passed out with a _very_ delighted smile on her face, each of the companions looked to Shana as the girl began laughing to herself. Whatever she had said to Hinata, they had the feeling they didn't even _want_ to know. Clearly feeling somewhat cautious of the Light Dragoon now, her four companions all inched as far away as they could while remaining in their seats.

As the fight went on below, the five conscious members of the group could only sigh at what they saw. After a moment, Lavitz decided to voice a question about something he just couldn't stop wondering about. "Is this really what this Sasuke is capable of? With how hyped up the crowd has been for this fight, I'm kind of disappointed. I was far more impressed with the other two fights. All four fighters from both of those fights were very impressive, but…"

Rose sighed and shook her head. "Not everything turns out to be what it's hyped up to be. These people are so blinded by their ridiculous love for this boy that they fail to see that he really isn't anything special. In truth, the only thing that really makes this Sasuke stand out would be his eyes."

Kiba chuckled at that and nodded in response. "Damn right. He's an Uchiha, a clan that wields the 'legendary dojutsu' known as the Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye)." Turning back to look at his friends, the Inuzuka felt he needed to explain in further detail so they could properly understand the reason _why_ Sasuke's dojutsu was so renowned. "I'm not sure how well I can explain it compared to somebody like Hinata or Hokage-sama, but I'll do my best."

Sighing heavily, the young Inuzuka heir turned to watch the fight below as he began to explain to the Dragoons about the Sharingan. "In one word, the Sharingan is pretty much bullshit. With it, the Uchiha can copy other people's jutsu. Whether it's taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu, it doesn't matter, they can _steal_ your moves. Aside from that, they can see your chakra flow using those eyes. Genjutsu doesn't really have any effect on those with the Sharingan either. There's other things that could be said about those eyes, but suffice it to say, the Uchiha really suck."

Dart frowned at this information and shook his head. "The sheer fact that he can steal his opponent's moves and use them without ever taking the time to practice them is terrible. From what you've told me about these eyes of his and about his personality, he probably believes that because he has those eyes, he's superior to everyone else. I believe Naruto said something about this before…"

Lavitz nodded and folded his arms across his chest. "If I remember correctly, he said that there are some in your world that are referred to as 'natural-born geniuses' and said that this Sasuke kid falls into that category. Then there are 'geniuses of hard work', which he said people like a 'Rock Lee' and Naruto himself happen to be. From how I understand it, a lot of people in your village seem to think that the natural-born geniuses are something truly special. However…"

Rose shook her head at this point and interrupted. "Because they are 'geniuses', they tend to let that get to their heads. Their egos grow to insane proportions and they let themselves become weak. This Sasuke is no different. It's people like Naruto that are truly strong and worthy of praise, not this Uchiha that can't do anything without his precious eyes."

Kiba smirked at this and nodded his head. "I knew I was going to like you four."

Rose narrowed her eyes at the boy. "Good for you." Sighing, the Darkness Dragoon looked down at the fight taking place below. As Sasuke began charging towards Gaara with a really loud lightning attack, Rose frowned to herself and shook her head. "I think it would only be fair if we ripped his eyes out of his skull and crushed them at our feet. Then he'd be _forced_ to work hard to grow stronger instead of relying solely on his precious eyes."

At this comment, her four conscious companions each scooted away from her as far as they could in their seats. Looking around at the four of them, Rose quirked a brow and chuckled. "What? I think it's a valid suggestion."

Before anyone could say anything else, they were interrupted by a loud scream coming from none other than Gaara. Looking down into the ring, they watched as the dome made of sand began to crumble. The Uchiha had apparently managed to wound the Suna genin while they were busy chatting amongst themselves. What _really_ got the attention of the Dragoons was the kind of power that was emanating from the sand-using ninja.

"Wait, isn't that power similar to…?" Shana began as she glanced at the other three Dragoons.

Rose nodded slowly. "It would seem Naruto is not the only one with this kind of power. Gaara's doesn't feel the same, nor does it feel quite as strong, but I would put it on the level of one of the Dragons at the very least." Frowning at this, the Darkness Dragoon prepared to say more on the subject when they noticed something strange washing over the entirety of the arena. "Well, what is this?"

Shana shook her head and found herself looking around in shock as people all over the arena began slipping into unconsciousness. Many ninja were left unaffected, and she and her friends seemed to be fine, but something strange was _definitely_ going on.

As the Dragoons and Kiba tried to piece together just what was happening, they noticed a variety of things happening in the span of just a few seconds. The first thing they noticed was the fact that Gaara was carried away by his teammates with Sasuke chasing after them. The next thing they noticed was some kind of commotion taking place in the area where the Kages sat. A little higher up, a strange barrier was put in place by four strange-looking ninja. And finally, what appeared to be an invading army began pouring into the arena, leading them to assume that the village of Konoha-Lohan was now under attack as well.

Dart rose to his feet with Lavitz at his side, the two of them quickly drawing their weapons. "It's an invasion. Konoha and Lohan are under attack by an invading enemy force."

Lavitz frowned at this revelation and shook his head. "We've had enough of war already. The people of Serdio have been suffering enough from the war with Doel's forces, but now we have to fight off a new enemy force as well? This isn't right…"

As the group of five prepared themselves for combat, they each suddenly heard mumbling coming from their unconscious friend. As they glanced Hinata's way, they heard her next words _quite_ clearly, heavy blushes forming over some of their faces. "Nooo. Naruto-kun, stooop. Everyone's watching, you know we can't do _that_ here." At this point, she began to giggle and squirm in her seat. "Ohh, you're so _naughty_ today. I guess if you insist…"

Kiba blinked in confusion for a moment and quickly turned away. "I…I don't think I even want to know what she's dreaming about right now. We should just ignore her and focus on, umm…yeah, keeping the civilians safe."

Dart nodded at this and looked to Shana. "Shana, please stay here with Kiba and look after the civilians in this section until Hinata comes to. Then the three of you can guard this area together. Rose, do you think you can get through that barrier?"

Rose quirked a brow at this and shook her head. "I could, but we shouldn't waste our time with that. There are hundreds of people living in Konoha-Lohan and they need protection far more than the Hokage needs assistance."

As Dart went to protest, Lavitz placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "She's right Dart. I understand how you feel. The Hokage is very dear to Naruto, but we cannot place his life above that of the villagers."

Dart sighed at this and nodded, conceding to their wisdom on this matter. Taking a deep breath, the mercenary spoke up again. "Okay then. Rose, do you think you could head into the village and assist the ninja in routing the enemy? Lavitz and I can help the ninja here easily enough."

Rose shrugged her shoulders and turned to leave. "As you wish. But I'd be more worried about Naruto if I were you." Nodding in another direction, the group watched as Naruto and Shikamaru left to follow Sasuke, along with a weird dog running in front. "It would appear he's going to confront Gaara. If it turns out he needs help, I expect you to go to him Dart. Is that understood?"

The Red-Eyed Dragoon found himself gulping nervously at the way his comrade had said that. It wasn't truly a request, it was an _order_. He had the feeling that if Dart failed to keep Naruto safe that she was going to make him suffer for it in an incredibly _painful_ way. Before he could even say anything, the woman had transformed and flown off to assist the ninja in the village.

After a moment of silence, Shana decided to speak up as she let loose an arrow that flew straight into the eye of an unsuspecting Oto ninja. "It sounds to me like she's become really fond of Naruto. Now I _really_ want to meet him for myself!" As the Light Dragoon giggled to herself and continued to fire upon the enemy forces, the others chuckled somewhat nervously before Dart and Lavitz rushed off to different parts of the arena to assist in the defense of the civilians and lesser ninja.

_**Naruto**_

As his friends and fellow ninja fought to keep the village safe, Naruto and Shikamaru had given chase after Gaara and his teammates. It didn't take long for the duo and their guide, Pakkun the ninken, to notice that they were being followed. With the speed at which their enemies were gaining on them, the intelligent young Nara opted to stay behind and hold them off while Naruto and Pakkun rushed on ahead.

Upon arriving at the scene of Sasuke & Gaara's ongoing battle, the blonde shook his head. "Well, I can't say that I didn't expect this. The teme's getting his butt kicked. Stay here Pakkun, Gaara's a Jinchuriki, and I think I'm probably the best person to take him on at this point."

Pakkun simply shrugged and watched as the blonde jumped forward, catching Sasuke as he was sent flying backwards after being swatted away by a powerful arm made of sand. Immediately upon landing on a branch, Naruto Uzumaki leapt away to another branch as soon as he sensed a bunch of sand shuriken flying his way. Upon landing, Naruto laid his teammate upon it safely out of Gaara's sight. "If you know what's good for you teme, you'll stay here. You don't know what Gaara is, I do."

Before the Uchiha could say anything, the blonde Uzumaki had already leaped off to confront Gaara. Now standing directly across from his fellow Jinchuriki, Naruto frowned and shook his head. "I'm here Gaara. I saw that expression you had earlier. You wanted to fight me, didn't you? Well here's your chance."

Gaara cackled madly as he eyed his new opponent. "**Uzumaki! Help me prove my existence Naruto Uzumaki! Mother is **_**screaming**_** for your blood!**" The redheaded Suna genin rambled on like this for a moment as Naruto began preparing himself for whatever was to come. When it finally came, the blonde found himself wincing slightly at how loud the Suna Jinchuriki was screaming. "**Suna Shuriken (Sand Shuriken)!**"

Chuckling nervously to himself at how fast the hundreds of shuriken were coming towards him, Naruto quickly leaped away. Using his sensory abilities, the young shinobi continued to dodge shuriken after shuriken until the attack had finally ceased. Once this had happened, Naruto Uzumaki quickly formed a few dozen Kage Bunshin and spread them out throughout the surrounding area.

Turning towards Gaara, the blonde quickly went through a series of hand seals for one of the jutsu in his repertoire. "**Suiton: Hahonryū (Water Release: Tearing Torrent)!**" As soon as the water appeared in Naruto's right hand and began spiraling at a high speed, he shot it forward towards Gaara and watched as he threw up one of his sand arms to block. _Good. I was hoping you'd do that._

As soon as the water struck Gaara's arm, it made the sand much heavier and became much harder for Gaara to manipulate as he would have liked. The Kage Bunshin positioned behind Gaara suddenly lunged forward, Rasengans in hand and attempted to strike the Suna genin. When the Jinchuriki spun around, attempting to strike them, he received another Suiton: Hahonryu to the face, blinding him momentarily and allowing the Rasengan wielding Kage Bunshin to strike the Suna Jinchuriki all over his sand-encased body.

When Gaara went crashing through a couple of trees and eventually fell to the forest floor with a thud, Naruto's remaining Kage Bunshin came out of hiding and unleashed numerous Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu attacks, each one pelting the poor redhead in sync, the flames merging together as they did to deal increased damage to the boy.

The blonde Jinchuriki took a better vantage point and watched the fire closely for a time until it dissipated. As it finally started to fade away, Naruto could spy small areas of glass throughout Gaara's sand armor. However, he didn't quite expect what came next.

In an instant, an incredibly large Bakedanuki (Monster Tanuki) could be seen towering over those in the immediate area. In fact, this beast could be seen from Konoha, and Naruto had a feeling that things could get _very_ ugly if he didn't figure something out _fast_.

_**Dart**_

Dart let loose a battle cry as he unleashed his Burning Rush Addition to quickly take down two enemy ninja. His main focus at this point was not just protecting the civilians, but in building up enough Spirit to support his transformation for the longest period of time possible. From what he could feel, it would only take one or two more attacks to max out on Spirit and then he could _really_ turn the tides of this battle in their favor!

Behind the mercenary stood two jonin sensei known as Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi. The two of them were thankful for the assistance and had taken defensive positions around the unconscious civilians while they let the Dragoon take on the majority of the enemies in the immediate area. At first they had questioned this man on just who he was, but when he simply said he was Naruto Uzumaki's friend, that was honestly good enough for them to trust the man.

Quickly cutting down another three enemies, the Red-Eyed Dragoon suddenly felt an overwhelming power from not too far off. Head snapping quickly in that direction, Dart Feld's eyes widened considerably and he appropriately said, "Oh shit!"

Off in the distance, what could only be called a **monster** had made its appearance. Unfortunately, Dart could feel the same kind of malice from this new foe as he had felt from…_Gaara_. "Oh crap, Rose is going to _kill_ me if I let Naruto fight that thing alone!"

Quickly taking a step forward and preparing to transform, Dart soon noticed something else equally as large appear a short distance away from the sand monster. "Is that…a giant _toad_? Just what the heck is going on over there?!"

Asuma soon appeared at Dart's side, slashing open an enemy's neck as he went to attack the distracted mercenary. "It looks like Naruto signed the Toad Contract. Still, to be able to summon something _that_ big is seriously impressive." Seeing Dart's confusion, the Sarutobi smirked and, without turning his gaze from his ally, threw a kunai into the skull of an enemy trying to ambush him from the side. "I'm not sure if you have anything like them in your world, but in this world, we ninja can sign contracts with special creatures. Once we have signed a contract, we can summon allies of that species of animal to aid us in times of need. This is what Naruto has just done. Look closely and you can see him standing atop the Toad's head."

The Fire Dragoon quickly spun on his heel and bisected two enemies in half at the midsection before sliding backwards and then flipping to the right to quickly avoid some projectile attacks. Glancing to his right at three incoming Oto ninja, the Dragoon dashed forward towards them and unleashed his Volcano Addition to take down two, while he used Double Slash to finish the third. Upon finishing his enemies, Dart glanced towards the battle taking place off in the distance and winced as gale force winds washed over everyone in the arena. "Shit! Their battle is going to end up destroying everything if Naruto doesn't finish him soon!" Allowing himself a closer look, the Red-Eyed Dragoon smiled as he saw his friend riding atop the giant Toad. _I'll be there soon Naruto. I'm not sure if you even need my help, but I _did_ promise Rose I'd look out for you._

_**Naruto**_

Naruto had been forced to try and evade large waves of sand, and it had quickly become almost impossible to do so. Even though Gaara was still _conscious_, it felt as if the sand was being controlled by something else at this point. That didn't matter anywhere _near_ as much as staying alive did though!

Quickly running through the options in his head, unleashing occasional Katon or Suiton jutsu to slow or halt the advance of the sand waves in order to buy himself some time, the blonde decided that, in order to continue fighting Gaara on at least _somewhat_ equal footing, he would have to summon Gamabunta. Unfortunately, with the rate at which the sand was coming for him and how fast it was beginning to surround him, the blonde began to wonder if he even had enough _time_ to perform the summoning!

Sadly, all options were soon taken away from Naruto as his left leg was caught by a tendril of sand the moment he tried to leap over a wave of sand to go higher up on another tree! Cursing under his breath, Konoha's Jinchuriki braced himself as the tendril of sand slammed the boy through a couple of trees before finally slamming him into the ground. Feeling the breath leaving his lungs from the impact, Naruto forced himself to bite into his thumb hard enough to draw blood. Running through the hand seals as quickly as he could as the sand began to come his way, the blonde shouted out the name of his jutsu and prayed it would be enough to turn this battle back in his favor. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!**"

Right as the sand began to wash over his body, Naruto's technique worked! In an instant, the blonde was lying on top of Gamabunta's head rather than on the ground where the sand was attempting to crush the very life out of his body! Flipping over, his body wracked with pain, Naruto gently patted Gamabunta atop his head and smiled. "Hey there Gamabunta-san. I know I've only summoned you a couple of times, and we still don't know each other all that well, but I kinda need your help here."

Gamabunta scowled as he looked around at his surroundings. When his eyes finally landed on Shukaku, he sighed. "First you summon me when the worlds start colliding, then you summon me again for practice, and now _this_? I had hoped not to have to do battle with another bijuu ever again." Realizing Naruto was probably about to ask an unimportant question, at least in the Toad's opinion, he spoke again. "Don't ask Naruto. Just hold on tight, because this is going to get ugly."

Sure enough, Gaara began to speak from atop of the Bakedanuki. "I will not lose to you **Uzumaki**! **Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu (Feigning Sleep Technique)!**" And with that, all chaos truly began. As soon as the redhead fell asleep, Shukaku himself awakened and began to laugh maniacally. It was clear to Naruto that this being was insane and not quite right in the head, but he also realized that this beast was _incredibly_ dangerous and needed to be stopped **immediately**.

"Shit. Hold on tight Naruto, we're moving!" Sure enough, right as Gamabunta jumped, the Ichibi turned to them and unleashed a couple of Fūton: Renkūdan (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet) attacks in their direction. Whilst in the air, Gamabunta and Naruto decided on a quick combination jutsu, the Katon: Gamayu Endan (Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet) on the Bakedanuki.

As Shukaku began to turn, the attack struck the bijuu hard in the right side of its body and turned most of that part of its body to glass. Finding itself rooted in place, Shukaku roared out and began screaming out in frustration. "So Bunta-san, any advice on how to seal that damn thing again?"

The Toad chuckled a bit before he gave his answer. "My suggestion is to wake that little punk up. Shukaku's Jinchuriki used that technique earlier, remember? Give him a good smack or two and he should wake right up. Do that and the Ichibi will be forced to return to the seal. With the bastard rooted in place, I just need to get you close and you can leap onto his head and do the rest yourself. Got it?"

The blonde Jinchuriki nodded and prepared himself to leap onto the head of the Ichibi. Once Gamabunta was close enough, Naruto rushed forward and leaped off of the Toad's head. As he flew through the air, the young blonde focused as much chakra as he felt was safe into his right fist and took in a deep breath. "Gaaaaaaraaaaa! Wake the fuck up you son-of-a-bitch!"

Reaching his fellow Jinchuriki, Naruto threw his punch and nailed Gaara right in the face. Watching as Gaara spit up blood, the blonde could feel numerous tendrils of sand swirling around him and tried to move away, only to fall flat on his face when two tendrils captured him by the ankles. Thankfully, the sand paused as the redhead slowly came to.

The blonde couldn't help but laugh lightly as the Ichibi screamed out in anger and frustration at being forced back into the seal so soon after awakening. Soon enough, the gigantic beast began to crumble back into sand and Naruto found himself falling alongside Gaara. "Heh, this is gonna hurt."

Watching the two Jinchuriki falling through the sky towards the trees below, the giant Toad smiled and nodded his head slowly. "Good-bye Naruto, and good luck." And with that, Gamabunta disappeared back to Mount Myobokuzan. Shortly afterwards, Naruto and Gaara crashed through a few tree limbs before landing on some large limbs attached to two separate trees.

Slowly rising to their feet, both suffering from their injuries, the two glared at each other. "You just don't stay down, do ya Gaara?" After both took a deep breath and prepared themselves, they leapt at each other and swung punches at one another. The blonde managed to just slip around Gaara's punch and delivered a powerful punch right into Gaara's face that sent him plummeting to the forest floor some distance below.

Landing roughly on his feet a short distance from his opponent, Naruto looked towards the small crater that had formed from the impact. Chuckling to himself a bit, the blonde ignored the pain he was in and slowly walked his way towards the psychotic Jinchuriki.

As fear began to overtake Gaara, he decided to ask his opponent, and victor of the fight, a question. "W-What makes you so strong Naruto Uzumaki? I thought killing would continue to prove my existence, but you beat me. I can't even move."

Naruto shook his head and knelt down by Gaara. Reaching over, he gently patted the redhead on his head. "The answer's pretty simple. I have precious people that I would give or do anything to protect, even if it cost me my own life." Shrugging, regretting the decision to do so as the pain wracked his body.

Wincing, his right hand shot up to his left shoulder and Naruto was forced to take in a deep breath before he could continue speaking. "I've always been treated like crap by the people in my village. You've suffered a lot too, I can tell just by looking in your eyes. I think there's a good chance I could have turned out like you Gaara, but I met some wonderful people and they…well, they _saved_ me. I may not have much respect yet, but that doesn't matter. So long as I have my precious people beside me, I can continue on and one day make my dream of becoming Hokage come true, I'm sure of it."

Looking down into Gaara's eyes, Naruto smiled softly at him. "Gaara, I know it may be difficult to see, but you have people close to you that truly care about you. Try to open your heart and let them in and you'll see that things will start getting better. But more than that, you'll find your _true_ strength when you learn to care for them in return. The desire to protect those dear to you gives you strength that nobody could truly fathom. And I look forward to seeing your true strength someday Gaara, not as an enemy, but as a friend." Extending his hand to his downed opponent, Naruto grinned down at him.

For a moment, Gaara stared blankly at Naruto. Then, he slowly managed to move his arm just enough so he could grip the blonde's hand. "Friends…"

Before they could say anything more to each other, Temari and Kankuro arrived and watched the two of them with curious expressions for but a moment before they knelt down by their brother and helped him to his feet. Supporting him between the two of them, they looked to Naruto and thanked him before disappearing, moving away from the village.

Not much longer after that, Dart landed in the area, donned in his Dragoon armor and looking around at the damage. "I came as fast as I could, but it looks like it's already over. Great job Naruto!" Getting a closer look at his friend, the Red-Eyed Dragoon's eyes widened. "You're hurt! Come on, the village has been saved and the medics are treating the injured now. We can talk later." _Rose is going to _kill_ me…_

_**Three days later – Morning**_

True enough, the village _had_ been saved, but it came at a great cost. The village of Konoha-Lohan was in a state of disrepair, quite a few people had died, and Naruto had lost one of his most precious people: the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. This was a devastating blow for the young man and he hadn't spoken a word to anyone about it since he received the shocking news.

After all he had been through, after his difficult fight against Gaara, after working so hard to protect everybody in the village…he still couldn't do anything for his precious jiji. Naruto knew it wasn't right to feel guilty for being unable to save the Sandaime Hokage, but he still hated the fact that he was dead. If the blonde could go back and say one thing to the old man, it would have been: "I love you Jiji." Thinking back on it now, Naruto truly wished he had said that more often.

Currently, he was standing with some of his friends at the funeral being held today. It was a funeral not only for their lost Hokage, but for all those that had died during the invasion, and for Hayate Gecko, the proctor of the third exam, who had apparently died trying to deliver some vital information to the Hokage about the very invasion that had taken the lives of so many. At least, that's what most assumed; Naruto didn't know the truth of it, but he felt for the poor guy and the people that loved him.

Standing behind Naruto were the four Dragoons, each of them was worried deeply for their friend. The blonde was the first person they had met in this new world, and he had quickly grown on all of them. The fact that none of them could get the poor boy to speak to them about his loss worried them all the more.

As Rose looked down at the back of Naruto's head, she frowned deeply and slowly reached her hand out, preparing to rub his head a bit. However, she caught herself and sighed, retracting her hand as she thought back to the day of the invasion. Sure enough, she had chewed Dart out pretty badly for allowing Naruto to become so injured, but she didn't do anything more than that. They did notice that the boy's wounds were already healing, and when they learned that he would be perfectly healthy again in just a few days, they were honestly shocked. However, they all chalked it up to Naruto's mysterious 'power' and didn't question it.

Continuing to look at Naruto, the Darkness Dragoon found herself wanting to just hug him and tell him that everything would be okay…or at least get better with time. However, she had experienced the pain of loss herself already, and she knew that it would hurt for a long time. _Naruto, you need to talk to your friends, to us…_ Sighing softly, the Dark Dragoon closed her eyes and shook her head. _I was alone for a long time, the pain haunting me for some time, but you don't have to be alone. We can help you if only you'd let us in!_

_**After the funeral**_

The funeral had proceeded on in silent mourning for a time until those present were allowed to say their good-byes to their Hokage and any others they wished to say their farewells to. Many of the mournful citizens of Konoha laid a single flower upon the coffin of the Sandaime Hokage as they passed. Some paused for a longer period of time at the Hokage's coffin and seemed to struggle to move on. Among these few was Naruto Uzumaki, still struggling with the death of someone so dear to him.

After the funeral finished and the people began to leave, Shana walked up to Naruto and placed her hands upon his shoulders, kneeling down and looking him in the eyes. "Naruto, please don't walk away. Just…talk to us, okay?" Seeing his blank eyes when he looked at her, the Light Dragoon flinched momentarily before hugging him close. "I'm so sorry you lost your 'jiji' Naruto. He was a good man, and I'm glad I got to meet him those few times I did. I'm…I'm sure that the Hokage wouldn't want you to retreat into yourself like this though Naruto. He'd want you to be strong and persevere through this. You should learn from his death, cherish the life he had and the time you spent with him, and move on. It's hard, and it'll probably continue to be hard on you, but he really wouldn't want you to do this to yourself."

Rose walked over and knelt down at Naruto's side. As Shana released the boy, the Darkness Dragoon smiled softly at the blonde and wrapped him into a tight hug. "I know the pain of loss Naruto. It's not easy, and it hurts; it really does. But Shana is right; the Hokage wouldn't want you doing this to yourself. You have friends that are here to help you through hard times like these Naruto. We're planning to go ask about the Hero Competition, so why don't you come with us and talk about anything that comes to your mind, okay?"

Seeing Naruto nod, the Dragoon of Darkness smiled a little more and took his hand in hers, slowly walking with him to catch up to Dart and Lavitz, who had already begun walking the moment Naruto had accepted the invitation to follow them to the Lohan arena.

_**At the Lohan Arena**_

As the group of five walked to the arena, Naruto slowly began to open up and talk about his happier memories with the Sandaime Hokage. Some of them were pretty amusing and had the five of them laughing a little, but for the most part, they were just happy to hear him talking again.

Upon arriving at the arena, they walked to the registration counter for the Hero Competition and waited as Dart went to talk with the clerk. Turning to the young man that helped save her life, Shana smiled down at him and extended her hand. "I would like to properly introduce myself. My name is Shana. It's a great pleasure to officially make your acquaintance Naruto. Thank you very much for saving my life."

The young blonde blinked a couple of times before gently grasping the Light Dragoon's hand and shaking it once. "I'm happy I could help you Shana-chan. It was the right thing to do, and I couldn't just leave you alone to suffer like that anyways. Besides that, I saw how much your friends cared for you. I'm happy that you're feeling better now."

The brown-haired girl smiled happily down at Naruto and nodded her head. "I'd like to think I can count you amongst my closest friends now Naruto. You're a good man and these three seem to be very fond of you already. Hopefully we can become great friends."

The blonde Jinchuriki grinned at Shana and nodded his head in return. "I'll gladly be your friend Shana-chan. You're a good person with a pure heart, I can feel it. I hope we get to spend a lot more time together so we can get to know each other better. I want to spend time with all four of you and help you out a lot more."

Before Shana could reply to that, Dart returned and shook his head before delivering the news. "Apparently the arena took a bit of a hit thanks to the invasion, and some of the competitors that had signed up were injured during the invasion. The Hero Competition is on hold for an indeterminable amount of time for now. Maybe we should look around the village and see what we can do to help out?" He suggested with a shrug, clearly not sure what they could do to kill time.

As Naruto went to reply, he suddenly felt a familiar presence rushing up to the group. Glancing past them, he smiled and waved at Jiraiya. "Heya Ero-Sennin, what's up?"

Frowning at the nickname, the white-haired man shook his head and looked down at his godson. "Naruto, you and I are going on a mission. We've been tasked with finding and retrieving Tsunade Senju, one of my old teammates, and bringing her back to become the Godaime Hokage. You should return home and pack for at least a month or two. I _do_ have some leads on where she could be, but Tsunade tends to move around a lot, so it could take some time. I'll wait for you at the west gate. Don't take too long."

Before Jiraiya could disappear in a shunshin, Rose spoke up. "Jiraiya, correct?" Seeing him nod and look her over with a lecherous grin, the Darkness Dragoon sighed and quickly drew her rapier, pressing it against his neck. "First, stop looking at me like that if you want to keep certain body parts intact. Second, would you permit the four of us to accompany Naruto and yourself on this mission? We would like to help, and it's a lot better than staying here. After all, Naruto is our closest friend in this world and we'd feel much better in his company than here where we know very few other people."

The white-haired man thought it over for a few moments before he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not. Go ahead and stick with Naruto, he'll show you where we're supposed to meet." And with that, Jiraiya disappeared in a shunshin.

Shana turned to the others and giggled to herself for a moment. "Well, I think that solves our boredom problem. Let's go find ourselves a new Hokage!"

**A/N: Okay, I had originally meant to end this third chapter at a different point, namely when Itachi and Kisame approach Naruto. However, the chapter was getting to be pretty long, so I decided that this was a pretty good spot to end the chapter. *nods***

**Anyways, hopefully you enjoyed the chapter, and enjoyed the changes to things and the views of the people from The Legend of Dragoon. I occasionally had to pause while writing this chapter because I kinda just...FROZE while writing. Not really sure why that happened, but I just suddenly had a hard time getting my words out, sooo...yeaaaah. Hopefully the chapter turned out alright.**

**Chapter 4 of this fic is coming up next. Hopefully you're looking forward to it! And, not sure if I've already mentioned it in this fic already, buuut, there's a poll on my profile for those of you that read RoNUN. Feel free to check it out and vote if you're interested. *nods***

**Take care, have a great day, and I think I'm going to finally get some sleep! lol. I am TIRED.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – The Search for Tsunade, Bonding Moments, and Naruto vs. Kabuto Begins!**

The party of six had stopped in a place called Shukuba Town for the time being. The white-haired Sannin had gone off in search of some clues as to Tsunade's whereabouts while the others split up into two groups. One group was meant to go rent a few rooms at an inn in town while the other group went to have a look around town and see if they could learn anything about this woman, Tsunade, and her whereabouts. Sure, Jiraiya was working on that very thing, but they figured that it couldn't hurt to have more people out there looking for information.

The group sent to rent the rooms consisted of Naruto, Shana, and Lavitz. So, while Dart and Rose went to look around town for any clues as to the Senju woman's current whereabouts, the three of them journeyed to a rather nice-looking inn. The moment they stepped inside, Naruto's hand shot up and he clutched his head as if in pain.

Quickly turning to her friend, Shana placed her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Naruto! What's wrong?!"

The young blonde shook his head and blinked a few times. "I…I don't really know. I suddenly felt two strong presences nearby, but they vanished just as soon as I picked up on them." Looking around the room they were standing in, Naruto found himself frowning. "But…it was more than that. There was somebody else that I picked up on. I think we're being watched by somebody."

Lavitz frowned at this and quickly led them to the counter. Having Shana order the rooms, the knight turned to his friend and stared hard into his eyes. "I don't like the sound of this Naruto. They no longer have the element of surprise, but it sounds like things could get really dangerous soon if we aren't careful. Let's get to our rooms and try to come up with some kind of plan."

As soon as Shana turned around with the keys to the three rooms they had managed to rent for the night, they hurried to one of the rooms and stepped inside. Seating themselves on the two beds in the room, the companions looked around at one another before Lavitz finally spoke up. "Okay, so we've got two strong, _potential_ enemies closing in on our position, and another person watching us, whose intentions we, _again,_ do not know. Going on the worst case scenario, I'd say we'd better prepare for a difficult fight. We at _least_ know that two of them are coming for us, with a third just waiting out there for whatever reason. Any suggestions?"

Chuckling to himself, the whiskered Jinchuriki shook his head. "Without knowing the abilities, or even the _identities_ of our enemies, it's hard to come up with a good plan. I can, at the very least, tell when they're outside, so they shouldn't be able to catch us off guard. The best thing I can think of would be for Shana to provide support while we confront the two of them head-on. If it looks like it's going to get really bad, you two at least have the option to transform and unleash some of your magic or something to at least _try_ and turn things in our favor. Hopefully our allies will be able to sense our battle and hurry to 'save' us."

Shana nodded slowly at this and looked down at her hands. "I'm sure the three of them will get here in time to help us. If you two need healing, I can transform and use my magic, but that's about all I'd be able to do after transforming. Lavitz is the one that would really be able to help in combat here."

Lavitz shook his head at this and reached over, gently patting her hand. "Do not worry about it Shana. As Naruto said, you're best in a supporting role in this case. You are _not_ weak, but instead we are choosing to trust you to keep us healthy should things get bad. Even if you can only cast your magic just once, if you time it right, you can really turn the tide of any battle back in our favor. Sadly…" Looking into Naruto's eyes at this point, the Jade Dragoon shook his head. "My magic isn't quite as powerful. Don't get me wrong, it's _powerful_, but I'm not exactly 'magic-oriented', if that makes any sense."

The blonde ninja shook his head and chuckled at that. "That's fine. From what you've told me about your spell, it targets all of the enemies in the immediate area. That will most definitely be important if these people _are_ our enemies. Whether it only serves as a distraction or actually does some damage to them, it doesn't matter. It will _still help_. But first…"

Scratching his chin in thought for a moment, Naruto nodded his head and found himself grinning. "Rather than rushing out to meet them head-on, how about I learn their intentions and, if they happen to be negative, gauge their abilities?"

Lavitz frowned at this and slowly nodded his head. "That would work out just fine, but how do you intend to do this Naruto? You don't actually plan to go out there by yourself, do you?"

Smirking at his friend, the blonde shinobi shook his head. "I'll be using Kage Bunshin. One of them will use the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) to transform into you, Lavitz. The two Kage Bunshin will step out to 'greet' our guests. As soon as they are dispelled, _if_ they are dispelled, that is when we attack. It's the best idea I can think of right now."

Shana smiled at that and nodded her head. "I like that idea! I think you should do it Naruto."

Lavitz nodded his agreement and took hold of his lance as he heard footsteps in the hallway. "Do it Naruto. Until your clones are dispelled, we'll hide out of sight. Give us the signal when it's time to strike."

Nodding at that, Naruto quickly performed the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and proceeded with the plan right as there was a knock on the door. As the three companions quickly hid out of sight, the two clones opened the door and looked into the eyes of the man who had visited their room. What the man said caused Naruto's eyes to widen. _Now I understand. They want the Kyuubi!_

The look on their friend's face showed the Dragoons that Naruto was the target of their new enemies. Feeling angered by that, Shana wanted to let loose an arrow towards whoever it was standing in the doorway, but she refrained from doing so. _Hasn't Naruto been through enough already?! Why can't people just leave him be for a while?_

Lavitz frowned at what he heard from the men outside the room. One of the men was trying to convince Naruto to come with him. If he refused, they would kill 'Lavitz'. The other suggested that he simply chops 'Naruto's' legs off so he couldn't possibly run away. Obviously these men were dangerous, and they had _very_ bad intentions for the three companions. _I don't care if they promise to leave Shana and I alone, there's absolutely _no_ way we'll let them take Naruto. We'll just have to hold out until the others arrive._

When the Lavitz clone was suddenly dispelled, Naruto and Lavitz flinched. It wouldn't take them long to figure out that 'Naruto' was also a clone. Preparing themselves for the inevitable battle, the two of them took quiet, shaky breaths and waited. It didn't take much longer for the swordsman to cut down the second clone.

Taking a quick breath, the men rushed out of the room to confront their enemies. Naruto quickly threw a punch at the shorter man's midsection, forcing him to leap away. Lavitz, meanwhile, entered a fierce duel with the shark-like swordsman. His opponent was far stronger than the good knight of Bale, but Lavitz Slambert certainly had a high level of skill using his lance. For every inch that one of them gained in the fight, the other would pull off something that forced the other back.

Naruto, meanwhile, couldn't help but realize who his opponent was. "You…you're Sasuke's brother, aren't you?"

Itachi smiled at young Naruto, but before he could answer, the four froze and found themselves looking down towards the end of the hallway. Groaning inwardly, Naruto watched as his raven-haired teammate activated his Sharingan and prepared to attack his brother. _Sasuke, you idiot! You aren't ready to fight him yet! They're too strong!_

Sadly, Sasuke wasn't thinking about any of that. Instead, he prepared a Chidori (One Thousand Birds) and began rushing towards Itachi Uchiha. Before Naruto could do anything, the older Uchiha stepped past him and deflected his younger brother's attack before doing something to Sasuke that caused him to let out such terrible screams. Inside the room, Shana covered her ears and began praying that Dart and the others would arrive _soon_.

As Itachi Uchiha dropped Sasuke to the floor, Naruto flashed through a series of hand seals and pointed both his hands at the villain. **"Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!**" Sadly, this attack wasn't enough as Itachi flashed through his own hand seals and unleashed a Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu to completely nullify Naruto's attack.

"You're stronger than I thought you would be Naruto-kun. But…" Pointing towards Lavitz and his partner, Itachi smiled again. "It would appear your friend is fighting a losing battle. I will say it again: come with us and he will not die. If you continue to resist, Kisame will kill him. The choice is yours Naruto-kun, but you would be wise to choose _quickly_."

Cursing under his breath, Naruto began trying to think of something that he could do to save not only Lavitz, but to buy them a little more time. When Shana suddenly appeared in the doorway and fired an arrow of light at Kisame, the blonde's eyes widened. "Shana-chan, don't!"

Sadly, it was too late. Kisame blocked the arrow, kicked the Jade Dragoon away from him, and turned his attention on the girl. Grinning her way, Kisame Hoshigaki began advancing towards her, fully intent on cutting the gutsy girl down where she stood. However, he suddenly froze and everyone looked down the hallway towards the three that had just arrived: Jiraiya, Dart Feld, and Rose.

Itachi sighed and shook his head. "Kisame, we should leave. Come." With that, the two villains quickly hurried off with Jiraiya chasing after them throughout the building in the hopes of catching them before they could get away. Sadly, the two of them _did_ manage to escape. When Jiraiya returned to the others, he saw Shana tending to Lavitz while Dart and Rose were trying to question Naruto about what had happened.

"Those two were Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, members of a group of S-ranked missing nin known as Akatsuki." Looking towards Naruto, the white-haired Sannin frowned. "They are trying to collect the bijuu, but I don't know why yet. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before Naruto-kun, but I didn't think they would strike quite so soon. This is a worrisome event indeed."

Shana perked up at this and glared Jiraiya's way. "Are you telling me they're after that power inside of Naruto?! But…wouldn't that hurt him if they managed to take it?!"

Jiraiya shook his head and found himself staring at the floor sadly. "It would be worse than that Shana. A Jinchuriki that has had his or her bijuu forcibly removed…" Sighing heavily at this, Jiraiya walked over and placed his hand atop Naruto's head. "They die, and there's nothing that can be done to stop it."

Naruto found himself chuckling slightly at this, causing Shana to freeze before she could say anything more. "Doesn't that just figure? A bunch of powerful ninja out to take the Kyuubi from me, and I'll die if they succeed. Boy, wouldn't the villagers be happy with that one?" Laughing almost hysterically at this, the blonde shook his head and stepped into his room, clearly not doing too well.

Watching him leave, the two women frowned sadly. After a few moments, Rose turned her attention to Jiraiya once more. "What do we do then? Surely you must have some kind of plan to protect Naruto?"

Jiraiya of the Sannin shrugged his shoulders at this before turning his gaze towards Naruto, who was currently sitting on one of the beds in the room. "There are still things that must be done, but my plan is to take Naruto-kun away from the village for a few years and train him as best I can until I feel he has become strong enough to protect himself from Akatsuki. In the meantime, as long as he's under my protection, Naruto is safe."

Rose nodded her head at that before turning to look at Naruto. "In that case, once we find this woman, Tsunade, and bring her back to become the new Hokage, I have a request to make of you." Seeing Jiraiya nod out of the corner of her eye, the Dragoon of Darkness smirked a little. "Convince her to allow Naruto to travel with us. When you have made your preparations and are ready to continue training your student, you should journey with us as well. Naruto has been a big help to us and I'm sure he will continue to be. But, at the same time, he would be even better protected with all of us than with just you, wouldn't you agree?"

When Jiraiya looked like he was about to protest, Dart stepped forward and clapped the man on the shoulder. "I think it's a fine idea Jiraiya. There are things we must do as well, and we would most certainly welcome your help as well as Naruto's. You can continue to train Naruto, but he can also grow stronger by combating whatever enemies we meet along the way. It's a good idea and one you shouldn't refute just because you do not know us so well."

The white-haired man nodded slowly, accepting their reasoning. Sighing softly, the Toad Sannin shook Dart's hand and grinned. "Heh, I'm in. I'm not sure what you four have to do, but if Naruto trusts you, so shall I. I think it's also the perfect way to gather more information on this new world of ours as well. In fact, it should prove a good chance to broaden my network a bit now that I think on it." When the Dragoons looked about ready to ask him what he meant, Jiraiya waved his hand and smiled at them disarmingly. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing bad, and I don't have any ill intentions, it's just something I happen to be in charge of. It's not something that would interfere with your quest any."

Before they could continue their conversation, three people arrived through the ceiling of all places with one of them throwing a punch at the white-haired Sannin. Quickly drawing his sword, Dart blocked the fist and quickly raised his leg, kicking at the assailant. When the green-clad ninja flipped backwards, Jiraiya raised his hand and shook his head. "Stay your sword Dart-san."

Doing as he was instructed, the mercenary took a closer look at the three people and blinked a couple of times. "It's you three! Why are you here?"

Sure enough, these three people were jonin from the village of Konohagakure: Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, and Kurenai Yuhi. As Kurenai slugged Guy in the back of the head for not only breaking through the ceiling, but attacking _Jiraiya_ of all people, Asuma stepped forward and lifted the comatose Sasuke into his arms. "We followed Sasuke when he left the village without permission. He overheard some of us talking about the attack made by Itachi and his 'friend'. Kakashi Hatake is in a coma in the hospital right now after whatever it is Itachi did to him. I guess, realizing that his brother was after Naruto, Sasuke gave chase after you guys. Though I doubt his intention was to help his teammate…"

Lavitz shook his head at that. "I don't think Sasuke even _noticed_ Naruto. As soon as he saw his older brother, the youngling rushed in for the attack without any kind of plan and, well…_that_ is the end result." The knight of Bale explained before sighing heavily. Without speaking another word, the Jade Dragoon walked into the room to join Naruto and speak with him for a time.

Shana looked about ready to offer to heal the young Uchiha with the use of her Dragoon Spirit, but Rose raised a hand and stopped her. "Jiraiya, this Tsunade Senju, is she truly as great a medic as you claim her to be?"

Jiraiya smirked at that and nodded his head. "Tsunade-chan is the best medic in our world. She could easily heal the two of them with no problem, so there's really nothing to worry about…so long as we can _find_ her and convince her to return with us to Konoha-Lohan that is."

Rose nodded her head at that and turned her attention back to Asuma Sarutobi. "Then you should return with the boy to Konoha-Lohan and await our return. Tsunade Senju shall heal the both of them herself; we'll make sure of it."

Asuma nodded at this and thanked the group before quickly disappearing with Guy and Kurenai following after him. When Rose turned around to face the others in the group, she saw the look that Shana was giving her. "That boy isn't worth your time Shana. We'll let this Tsunade heal him if she chooses to, but I don't care about the brat in the least."

Shana slowly nodded at that before looking in the room at Naruto. He was talking calmly with Lavitz, but she could tell that his smile was another fake one. Sighing to herself, the young woman nodded slowly. "I…understand Rose. Sasuke is too selfish. It would have been fine if he had come after them in concern for Naruto's…his _teammate's_ safety, but it was for a purely selfish reason." Shaking her head, the Light Dragoon walked into the room and wrapped Naruto into a tight embrace. "Naruto, please don't let these events affect you too much. Let's focus on your mission and go find Tsunade, _tomorrow_ of course. We should get some rest tonight."

Lavitz rose from the bed at this point and took two of the keys. "Naruto, go ahead and get plenty of rest tonight. Jiraiya will be sharing this room with you. Dart and I will be in the room just across the hall, while Shana and Rose will be in the room right next door to yours. Nobody will be bothering us tonight, I'm sure of it."

Naruto watched as Lavitz left the room and sighed as he began hugging Shana back. "Thanks Shana-chan. I guess so much has just been happening lately that it's really starting to wear on me. Being responsible for our worlds merging together the way they did, killing Drake, my battles with Neji and Gaara, the invasion, Jiji's death, and now this? It's just…so much has happened and I don't think I know how to deal with it all."

Shana nodded slowly and looked him calmly in the eyes before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "It's okay Naruto. Try not to think about all of that and just _sleep_, okay? You need to rest. Rose and I will be right next door if you need us." Suddenly smirking, she poked her friend in the nose. "If you need to cuddle with somebody, you're welcome to curl up with me if it'll make you feel better."

Naruto suddenly blushed a deep shade of red and quickly shook his head furiously from left to right over and over again. "N-N-No, that's okay Shana-chan. Even though it's just an innocent suggestion, I'm not really ready to share a bed with a woman just yet. T-Thank you for the offer though." Deciding to get back at his friend a bit, Naruto suddenly leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "Besides, wouldn't you rather _cuddle_ with Dart?" When Shana turned just as red as she had just made the blonde, Naruto broke out into a fit of genuine laughter.

Smacking Naruto in the arm, Shana mock glared at him for a time before she started giggling as well. "Sleep well Naruto. I'll see you in the morning." Seeing him nod, the Light Dragoon stepped out of the room and, taking the key to her room from Lavitz, went and entered it after wishing the others a good night.

Rose watched Naruto for a time before she let out a sigh and walked to her room, not even saying good night to anyone before going inside. _I can't quite offer the same words of comfort that Shana seems to be able to. At least not that easily._ Sighing to herself, the Dark Dragoon slowly removed her armor and laid in her bed, staring up at the ceiling for a time before deciding to voice her question to Shana. "How do you make that look so easy?"

Shana blinked and froze in what she was doing, slowly glancing over her shoulder at the woman she hardly knew anything about. "What are you talking about Rose?"

Rose closed her eyes and sighed again. "How can you talk so easily with Naruto? I can't quite think of what to say or do for him to comfort the boy. But you? You make it look so easy. So…how do you do it?"

Shana shrugged her shoulders before climbing into bed. "Naruto's actually really easy to talk with. He listens and he's actually a sweet guy. I get along well with him I guess. I…don't really know what to say to explain it Rose." Frowning, the young woman rolled over on her side and looked into her friend's eyes. "I do know _one_ thing I can say: just _talk_ to him. Talk about whatever comes to mind and you might just end up being surprised. He's pretty smart for his age, and I'm sure he'll be able to easily hold a conversation with you on any topic you can think up, even if he mostly just asks you questions about yourself or something."

The senior Dragoon nodded slowly at that before offering a small smile. "I see. Well that's fine. Thank you." Suddenly donning a devilish smirk, Rose opened one of her eyes and began to chuckle slightly. "So, did you enjoy your flirting with the boy?"

Shana began to cough at this and began sputtering for a moment. "W-What?! I was trying to take his mind off of everything, I was _not_ flirting! Wait…you're teasing me because we were both blushing, weren't you?! That's mean Rose. You know how I feel about Dart!"

Rose simply chose to smirk at that before she turned off the lamp and rolled over. "Good night Shana."

The Light Dragoon pouted at this before laying back and grumbling to herself. "Meanie."

Meanwhile, in Naruto's and Jiraiya's room, the blonde lay on his bed in his night clothes just thinking about everything. _I wonder if everyone's okay. I haven't really talked with any of them since the invasion, so I don't know how anyone's doing. Heh, I don't think I even went to check on Sakura before I left. Some teammate I am, not even seeing how my own teammate is doing._ Chuckling softly to himself, the blonde rolled over to face the wall. _That doesn't matter right now though. So much has been happening lately, I haven't even had time to think about this new world I had a hand in creating. I wonder what we can expect from this new world. From what I've heard from Dart and the others, they were in the middle of trying to end a war before too many more people could suffer from it. Are we going to have to deal with their war as well? I really don't like the sound of that…_

Naruto Uzumaki's thoughts were interrupted by Jiraiya's voice. "Naruto, I know you're having a hard time right now, but you should get some rest. If it helps you to rest a bit easier, I know where Tsunade is." Seeing his godson react to this, the white-haired Sannin grinned. "She's going to be in a town nearby called Tanzaku Quarters. She's a hopeless gambler, and there's something happening there that will _definitely_ be attracting her attention. We should make it by midday tomorrow if we leave early, so I need you to get plenty of rest. Okay Naruto?"

The blonde Jinchuriki nodded slowly and found himself smiling a bit. "Alright Ero-sennin. Hopefully we can convince her to come back with us. I'm eager to get back to Konoha and see what that Hero Competition is like!"

Jiraiya smirked at that and chuckled to himself as he shook his head. "Then we should definitely hurry. I'll be cheering you on in the competition Naruto-kun, so you'd better do well. You hear me?" Hearing an affirmative response from the young man, the Toad Sannin smiled to himself and closed his eyes, rolling onto his side and slowly drifting off to sleep, his godson following suit soon after.

_**The Next Day – Tanzaku Quarters**_

Upon arriving at Tanzaku Quarters in the afternoon, the party of six couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. A variety of monsters had gotten in their way after leaving Shukuba Town and that had delayed the group somewhat, causing them a bit of irritation more than any real problems. But as they reached the outskirts of Tanzaku Quarters, the group couldn't help but notice a large structure off in the distance, just north of the town.

"Hey Lavitz, isn't that…?" Dart started, his mind reeling around the fact that this place had moved into such a strange location, a place it _shouldn't_ be if the direction the group had left in after leaving Konoha-Lohan was any indication!

Lavitz's eyes widened and he shook his head. "I can't believe it. What in the heck is Hellena Prison doing way out here? We left through the _west_ gate, didn't we?"

Jiraiya decided to pipe in at this point. "You have to keep in mind that after our worlds merged, things began to change drastically. There's no telling what we'll end up finding, as this clearly indicates." Sighing at this, the Sannin looked down at the town of Tanzaku Quarters. "If this Hellena Prison, as you called it, has moved to such a drastically different location, I wonder what we can expect from our world. I'd say it's pure luck that this town hasn't moved like your prison has."

Rose nodded at this and released a heavy sigh. "This is going to be frustrating. We used to know _exactly_ which direction we needed to go in to get to where we were going. It looks like that will no longer be the case." Seeing the others nod, the dark-eyed woman frowned and shrugged her shoulders. "Let's just find this Tsunade woman and drag her back to Konoha-Lohan already. I think it will be important to purchase plenty of parchments. We're going to need to draw up some new maps…"

The others agreed with her and they began their way into the town. As they walked, Jiraiya decided it would be prudent to split into three separate groups. "Alright, I've explained to you about Tsunade's habits and what she looks like…well…a _general_ description of what she looks like. Unfortunately, she oftentimes uses her abilities to change her appearance based on what she looked like at a certain age, so it could be a bit problematic." Shaking his head at this, the white-haired Sannin looked around as they entered Tanzaku Quarters proper.

"We'll split into three groups. Naruto-kun will come with me. Dart and Lavitz, I would like the two of you to search the area on the opposite side of town from where we are currently. Shana and Rose, please explore this side of town. Naruto and I will search everywhere based on whatever clues we can dig up. If we find anything, I'll have Naruto-kun send out some Kage Bunshin to find you. Is this plan acceptable with all of you?" Seeing everyone nodding in acceptance, Jiraiya nodded as well. "Good. If we are unable to find her today, we will continue the search tomorrow morning. We'll meet at the inn right over there." Pointing at the inn closest to them so they understood where to meet, everyone quickly nodded in agreement before they each split up to begin their search."

_**Later that night**_

Jiraiya and Naruto were really just about to give up. They had searched and searched and _still_ they hadn't found her! Finally, they just decided to get something to eat. So, after being instructed by Jiraiya to send out some Kage Bunshin to collect the others, the two of them went inside and were about to request a booth for six when they heard something that caught their attention immediately. Glancing over towards the source, Jiraiya smirked. "There's our girl. Come on Naruto. Send out a couple more Kage Bunshin and we'll go say hello."

After Naruto did as he was told, the two of them walked over to Tsunade's booth and sat down beside the women. "Tsunade, long time no see. How've you been?"

Tsunade's right eyebrow twitched and she almost slammed her head into the table before she decided to simply grumble in irritation. "What do you want Jiraiya? I'm not exactly having the best day here and I certainly don't need you making it worse."

Naruto frowned at this and decided to say something before his sensei could. "Is it because you ran into Orochimaru earlier or because of what you were talking about just a moment ago? Because I would understand either, especially the second one, considering that's kind of _my_ fault." True enough, Tsunade and Shizune had been discussing the changes in the world, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on with it lately.

Shizune blinked a couple of times before turning her gaze on the blonde boy sitting across from her. "How could the world changing be _your_ fault? Do you know something we don't know?"

Jiraiya chuckled at that and nodded his head slowly. "You could say that. Tsunade-chan, this is Naruto Uzumaki. You should recognize that name." Seeing the look of recognition in his old teammate's eyes, the white-haired Sannin nodded. "Good. You should understand not only who he is, but of his burden as well." With a soft sigh, the Toad Sannin shook his head. "I was training Naruto-kun when he accidentally tapped into _its_ power. His power resonated with a powerful force in another world and, in essence, these two forces worked as a kind of magnetic force. As a result, our two worlds have become one. Thanks to this, the world has changed in ways we still can't quite understand. That structure you see north of here is apparently known as Hellena Prison, according to our companions. From how our new friends talked about it, it doesn't sound like a good place."

After hearing this, Shizune looked absolutely flabbergasted while Tsunade actually smashed her head into the table. Groaning more from the shock of it all more than the pain, the blonde Senju woman slowly raised her head to look at the two. Only, as she looked, she spotted four more people that had brought up chairs to sit near them. "Oh great. Who are these people?"

Naruto grinned at this point and began to introduce his friends. "These are my friends from that other world we told you about. There's Dart Feld in the red, Lavitz Slambert, Shana, and Rose." As he introduced the Dragoons, he motioned with his hand to signify which person he was introducing at the time.

"It's nice to meet you Lady Tsunade." Shana said, bowing her head politely to the woman. "I'm glad we managed to find you!"

Dart nodded at this point and looked to his ninja friends. "Have you two talked to her about our purpose for coming to find her yet?"

Jiraiya frowned and shook his head. "We were getting to that. Before that, though, Tsunade, what did Orochimaru want with you?"

The Senju woman sighed and shook her head. "This is _really_ not a good day. The bastard wants me to heal his arms. Sensei apparently did something to them a short while ago, and he's…"

Shizune, sensing her mentor was likely going to try and skirt around the deal offered to her, decided to speak up at this point. "That snake promised to revive Nawaki and my uncle Dan in exchange for healing his arms."

Rose scoffed at this and shook her head as Tsunade looked about ready to scold her apprentice. "A murderous snake like that and you really think he'll keep up his end of the deal, do you?"

Tsunade scowled her way, but before the blonde woman could speak a word, the young Uzumaki spoke up again. "Orochimaru _killed_ Jiji! He…killed your sensei…" Shaking his head, Naruto rose from the booth and narrowed his eyes at Tsunade. "If you even so much as _think_ about accepting his deal and betraying Jiji, I'll kick your ass Tsunade! I guarantee it, dattebayo!"

Jiraiya frowned as he watched his blonde godson walk outside, Dart and Lavitz following after him to look after him and hopefully calm him down as well. Turning his attention back to Tsunade, the white-haired Sannin spoke up. "Tsunade, we've come to bring you back to Konoha. You are to be the next Hokage. I'll leave it up to you to decide what the right thing to do is, but I will say this: if you decide to help Orochimaru, you _will_ be considered an enemy to the village. Tell me, how long were you given to decide on whether or not you will accept that snake's deal?"

"I was given one week to decide. Let me guess; you want to give me until then to decide on which of these 'deals' to accept, right?" Tsunade questioned, clearly frustrated by this whole mess.

Jiraiya nodded, but didn't get to say anything as Rose spoke up again. "I think that's a fair deal. Hopefully you make the _right_ decision, _woman_. If you betray what little trust Naruto has in you to make the right choice, however, I'll make sure to make you regret it. Is this understood?"

Tsunade scowled at the woman and, after some time, ended up scoffing. "And who are you to think you could threaten me? You don't look like anything special to me."

Jiraiya and Shana both sweat dropped at this, but before they could say anything, the Darkness Dragoon spoke up again. "I'm someone that has Naruto's best interests in mind. I care about him, and I don't want you hurting him by being a selfish woman who would rather wallow in her own miseries and regret than face the harsh truths of reality. As far as I can see, you're truly pathetic. You act as if your misfortune is the only thing that matters and you choose to drink and gamble your life away, thinking you have it so bad."

Turning red in the face, Tsunade thrusted her finger at Rose's face and slammed her right fist on the table, shattering it in her anger. "That's it! Outside! Now! I'm going to kick your ass you stupid bitch! You don't get to talk down to me as if you know anything about what I've been through!"

Rose shrugged her shoulders and rose from her chair, turning and walking towards the door. "As you wish. But when I win, you're going to apologize to Naruto. Understand?"

Tsunade was practically snarling as she followed after the Dragoon. "I'll accept those terms. But don't go regretting pissing me off after I kick your ass!"

Outside, Naruto, Dart, and Lavitz couldn't help but smirk to themselves as Rose and Tsunade came out and stood across from one another. Obviously, Rose had somehow managed to rile the blonde woman up and now something interesting was about to happen. So, grinning wider, the blonde threw his fist up in the air and decided to cheer Rose on. "Yeah Rose, kick her ass, dattebayo!"

The blonde woman's eyebrow twitched again and she pointed a finger at her godson. "Shut up brat! Do you want me to kick your ass too?!"

Rose scowled at that and drew the Demon's Stiletto, taking her battle stance. "Threatening Naruto now as well? You'll regret doing that _Woman_. Come at me!"

Tsunade began turning red again, clearly growing more furious by the second. "You must have some kind of death wish to allow me the first move. You'll regret that _Rose_. And, for the record, my name is Tsunade, _not_ Woman!"

The Dark Dragoon smirked as the Sannin came charging at her. Quickly moving forward, Rose slipped under her punch, spun around behind her and slashed Tsunade in the side in one quick movement. As the woman growled out in pain, Rose jumped backwards, away from Tsunade and took her stance again. "You'd be wise to try a different tactic Woman."

Tsunade spun around and smirked as she slammed her fist into the ground, causing the ground to quake and earth to rise up, shooting towards her opponent. When Rose leaped into the air and propelled herself off one of the pieces of earth, the Slug Sannin's eyes widened, realizing she couldn't possibly move out of the way in time. Throwing her arms up in an attempt to at least shield herself, she was shocked when the attack didn't land. Opening her eyes, the blonde woman saw the young Uzumaki had jumped in the way and _caught_ Rose's blade! "W-Why?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head while Rose slipped her weapon away. "Rose wouldn't have killed you Tsunade. But…" Turning to look into the Sannin's eyes, the young man smirked up at her. "You have to admit, you lost that fight. Don't try to make excuses or deny it either, you weren't expecting Rose to be that fast, were you?"

Tsunade Senju sighed and shook her head. "No, I really wasn't. Her speed is more than you'd see from most ninja. Tell me Naruto, what are your other friends capable of?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at this point and took a step forward. "What about our deal Tsunade?"

The blonde woman groaned and turned her gaze downwards once again. Sighing softly, she reached out and placed her hand gently on Naruto's head. "Naruto, I'm sorry. For more than just what happened in the restaurant too…"

Jiraiya quirked a brow at this and looked into his old teammate's eyes. "Wait, are you sure you want to tell him this?"

Naruto clearly had no idea what the heck they were talking about as he looked between the two Sannin. "Tell me what? What are you two keeping from me?"

Tsunade frowned and knelt down, gently pulling Naruto into a hug. "Jiraiya and I are your godparents Naruto. We were good friends of your parents, but before you ask, it's not my place to tell you who they were. That was supposed to be sensei's job…"

Jiraiya sighed and nodded his head slowly. "You were supposed to be told everything after you made the rank of chunin or after you were ready to know. I think with how you did in the Exams that you would have likely been promoted, but that's not up to me, and without knowing what sensei had planned, I can't tell you anything yet. I'm sorry Naruto-kun."

Naruto's mind was reeling once again as he took in this information. He was okay with not knowing who his parents were just yet, that part isn't what bothered him at this moment in time. Freeing himself from Tsunade's hug, the blonde stepped back and focused a glare on Tsunade first and then on Jiraiya. "You…are my _godparents_ and you let me suffer without even _trying_ to help me?! Do you have any idea what those assholes in the village put me through?! They _still_ treat me like crap, and you two couldn't even think to check on me, help me out, help give me a better life?! No…no…" Shaking his head in disbelief, the young Uzumaki fought back tears and quickly jumped to the rooftops and dashed off, disappearing from sight almost instantly.

Shana tried to reach out to the young blonde after hearing the truth, but he had leaped away before she could reach him. Falling to her knees in disbelief, she looked at Naruto's godparents and shook her head. "After all he's been through lately, why would you do this to him now?! It's…it's wrong!" When Dart came to her and helped Shana to her feet, the Light Dragoon glared at the two Sannin and shook her head before rushing off with Dart and Lavitz to try and find Naruto.

Rose watched as her friends left to search for Naruto before leveling a dangerous glare on the two Sannin. When they turned to her, probably to ask if she was going with them, they ended up freezing in place once they saw her expression. "So…" Hands clenching into fists and unclenching repeatedly, the Dark Dragoon shook her head in disappointment and anger with these people. "Did you two idiots know that Naruto told us about his past? About everything that happened to him?"

When Tsunade went to speak, Rose silenced her with another glare and continued to speak. "Rhetorical question _Woman_. For a long time, those villagers beat him, and it was apparently much worse on his birthday. He has received _no_ respect in that village until recently, and even then it's only from a select few people. Naruto has fought so hard all his life to just make his way in that village! The Hokage, Sandaime, Jiji, whatever he's called, was one of the few that tried to look out for him, but he could only be there so often. I don't know all of the details about his past, but I know enough after talking with him to know that you two really messed up. I don't care if you were named his godparents or not. As far as I'm concerned, you're both pathetic _monsters_, and trust me, that's really saying something coming from me." And with that, Rose transformed and flew off in search of Naruto. She knew that if she had stayed there any longer, there was a good chance she would have killed those two.

After she had gone, Shizune piped in, having practically shrunken behind Jiraiya after everything started to get bad. "A-Am I the only one who feels like we just narrowly escaped death?" Seeing the two Sannin and even the pig in her arms shake their heads, the black-haired woman nodded slowly. "Okay, good then. It's not just me…"

_**A few hours later – Somewhere in Tanzaku Quarters**_

The Dragoons had been searching for three hours already without finding their friend. At this point, Dart and Lavitz were actually cursing the fact that he was a ninja. After all, with his skills, if Naruto Uzumaki didn't want to be found, they most likely _weren't_ going to find him! Shana didn't care about any of that though. The Light Dragoon simply wanted to find her friend and talk to him, keep him company, and try to cheer him up as well.

The one that _did_ manage to find Naruto in the end was Rose, the Dark Dragoon. The dark blue-eyed woman finally found Naruto sitting in a location near the edge of Tanzaku Quarters with a perfect view of Hellena Prison. As she approached, Rose easily realized that Naruto already realized she was there, even if he made no outward indication of it. When he spoke, a small smile graced the woman's lips. "Heh, I figured you'd be the one to find me Rose. Sit down if you'd like. I don't mind if you join me."

Despite the fact that her young friend still had his back turned to her, Rose nodded her head and walked forward, sitting down beside him on the rooftop with one of her legs raised, her knee near her face as she looked out towards the prison complex. "How are you feeling Naruto?"

The blonde chuckled at this and shook his head. "Straight to the point. I like that about you Rose-chan." Smirking at each other, the ninja nodded his head and glanced back out towards the prison. "If I had to sum it up…I'd say that I'm pissed off, depressed, confused, conflicted…it's too much to deal with right now. I haven't had any time to just process everything, to take it all in and deal with it. More and more just keeps getting piled on top of everything else and I just…I don't know what to do about it. Shana recommended I just take some time to rest and let it all go, but…how can I just do that? I don't think I can…"

Rose simply smiled at him for a while before reaching over and taking one of his hands in hers. When she saw him blush a little at the action, she found herself smiling a little more before she looked out towards the prison again. "You just have to take it one day at a time. Only you can truly decide the best way to work through this. However, you do have friends you can rely on should you ever need us. Feel free to talk with us whenever you need to Naruto. Okay?" Seeing him nod slowly out of the corner of her eye, the raven-haired woman brushed her hair back a bit after the wind began picking up somewhat and blowing a little of it into her face. Squeezing Naruto's hand a little, Rose released a soft sigh and closed her eyes. "You know, I could always just crush the two of them beneath my heel until you feel like they've had enough?"

Naruto chuckled at this and gently brushed his thumb along the back of Rose's hand, blushing a little more as he did this. "I really like talking with you Rose. Did you know that?" Seeing his friend shake her head, Naruto was about to say more when he noticed a small tinge of pink in her cheeks. Shaking his head, the young man put that out of his mind before looking back towards the prison. "You're a good person, and a wonderful friend. Shana's really nice, but I feel like I can relate a little more to you. I'm not really sure how else to explain it than that, but…there it is."

The Dark Dragoon nodded her head slowly and gave his hand another squeeze. "You're really sweet Naruto. I have to admit something." Seeing him look her way, a brow raised in curiosity, Rose grinned. "I wasn't really sure how to talk to you. Shana made it look so easy, and in a way, I suppose I was a little jealous of her. You're a good person, and I was so suspicious of you and worried about your real intentions…by the time I realized you were growing on me, I didn't know how I could talk to you. Odd, isn't it?"

The blonde chuckled and shook his head. "No, that's understandable Rose-chan. You don't need to worry about having been suspicious of me either, nor do you need to apologize for it. I knew you were suspicious of me from the start, and that only made me want to prove myself to you all the more. I'd like to think that after the events in the Shrine of Shirley that things had improved between the two of us, but I knew you were still cautious of me. But then you got to see a portion of the power that lies in me, and you seemed to change a bit after that. I know it's not a good power, but at least you got to see a part of me that I had been hiding…"

Rose shrugged her shoulders and stared into the sky. "I'm glad I gave you a chance Naruto. You are good company, and it really is as Shana said: you're easy to talk to." Smirking, she glanced over at Naruto and started to laugh softly for a time. When she calmed down, the dark blue-eyed woman laid back on the rooftop and pulled him down with her to curl up against her side. "Since you've shown me a secret of yours, would you like to hear one of mine?"

The blonde next to Rose shook his head and simply smiled as he hugged Rose close and rested his head on her shoulder. "It's okay Rose-chan. You don't really need to feel compelled to tell me any secrets of yours in return. Everybody has things they don't want people to know, and I know you aren't any different."

The Dark Dragoon chuckled softly to herself and gently rubbed Naruto's shoulder as she hugged him close. "You're really smart for your age Naruto. You're a very respectable person and I honestly do appreciate your company." Sighing to herself, the Dark Dragoon looked into her companion's eyes. "Don't go telling the others this, but I happen to be one of the original Dragoons from over 11,000 years ago. I lived through the Dragon Campaign, fought the Winglies, watched my friends die…I've lived through so much and I still don't quite know how to deal with it all. I do know this though: it will get better. Give it time and spend time with your friends. Right now, your godparents are definitely coming off as real assholes, but they might have their reasons for what they did. I doubt they're _good_ reasons, but you should talk to them and get to know them a bit better. I don't have to like them, but maybe _you_ will. Just give it time."

The blonde frowned at this, but nodded slowly after a few minutes. Leaning up, the young Uzumaki kissed Rose's cheek and smiled brightly at her. "Thank you Rose-chan. I'll try to get to know them better, and I'll try to forgive them, but…" Sighing heavily, the blonde sat up and looked out towards Hellena Prison once again. "There will be absolutely _no_ forgiveness is my dear 'godmother' decides to help Orochimaru. He's the bastard that killed Jiji and I won't forgive anyone that helps him. I'll become strong enough to kick that snake's ass and stop him so he won't ever hurt anyone again." Noticing Rose about to say something, the blonde shook his head. "Don't worry Rose-chan; I'm not going to get hung up on revenge or anything like that. He's just a really bad guy that has hurt a lot of people and, well…I don't know, I just don't want to see anyone else hurt."

Rose nodded slowly, glad the boy she was next to didn't notice the blush she had after he kissed her cheek. It was an odd experience for her, but she wasn't complaining. Naruto was a good friend and good company, as she had stated, but she just didn't understand that weird tingly feeling she got when spending time with him. Shrugging it off, the Dark Dragoon looked out towards Hellena Prison as well and smiled. "I'm glad to hear it Naruto. Would you like to go for a walk for a while? I doubt you want to return to the inn just yet." Seeing her blonde-haired friend nod, Rose smiled a bit brighter and took his hand, hopping down from the roof so they could walk for a while and talk about anything that came to mind.

_**One week later**_

The night that Naruto had learned who his godparents were, he and Rose had actually ended up returning to the inn very late after having a nice, long, relaxing walk. They had talked about a variety of things, including various places Rose had been and what she had seen during her long life. Naruto had also promised not to tell anyone about her secret, and he also assured her that he thought she was pretty cool the way she was.

The next day, when Rose hadn't emerged from her room by noon, Shana actually went in, planning to wake her. What she saw had her giggling. Naruto and Rose were actually cuddling together as they slept in the same bed! When the two of them sensed a group of people in the doorway, Rose spoke up from the bed. "Dart, Shana, Lavitz…are you going to go away and shut up or do I need to injure the three of you?" Needless to say, that shut the three of them up and caused them to leave the cuddle buddies alone.

That was the only night that Rose and Naruto slept together in the same bed. For the majority of the week, Naruto took the time to spend time with his godparents, Shizune, and Tonton. He had yet to truly forgive them, but they had talked about his past and they had apologized profusely for not being there for him through all of what he had been through. Jiraiya tried to explain his absence by claiming he had to monitor his spy network, but Naruto and Tsunade both refuted that fiercely, telling the man he was just making excuses. There were ways to manage a spy network while remaining stationary in a village to raise his godson, so they wouldn't accept his crap excuses.

Tsunade explained that what Rose had said was right. The medic truly had no excuses to give. Instead, she vowed that she would try to be there for her godson from that point forward. Despite not having forgiven her yet, Naruto did enjoy spending time with Tsunade and had even confided in her his dream to become Hokage someday.

By far, the one that Naruto got along with best out of the three (or rather four, if Tonton was included) was Shizune. The young blonde had learned from her about her uncle Dan, and Tsunade's brother Nawaki. Despite understanding the pain Tsunade had felt from what she had been through in losing the two of them, Naruto had said something quite similar to what Rose had said before. Shizune found herself agreeing, but didn't dare say anything about it to her master's face. Other than that chat, Naruto and Shizune had developed something akin to a sibling-like relationship with one another and were even referring to each other as otouto (younger brother) and onee-chan on occasion.

Finally though, the day had come for Tsunade to make a decision. Sadly, as Naruto and the Dragoons waited for news from Jiraiya, Shizune ended up bursting into the inn and into the room where they were waiting. What they heard from the Senju's apprentice caused them all to groan. When Jiraiya stumbled through the open window, clearly having been drugged, Naruto couldn't help but facepalm. "Well this is just great. Going to confront Orochimaru by herself is such a stupid, selfish thing to do. We need to go help her before she gets herself killed."

Agreeing with him, the group rushed off with Shizune trailing behind with Jiraiya, attempting to help him overcome the drug's effects as they tried to keep up with the others. It didn't take long for the group to reach the outskirts of Tanzaku Quarters where Tsunade and Orochimaru were. What Naruto saw had him scoffing as he landed next to the paralyzed Tsunade Senju. "Kabuto. I knew there was something off about you, but this? I guess I shouldn't even be surprised, but damn if I didn't think you would turn out to be Orochimaru's bitch. I'd ask how it feels, but considering the kind of person that snake bastard is, I'm going to have to pass on getting the answer to that question."

Kabuto took a step forward and glared daggers at the Uzumaki brat. "You don't know a damn thing Naruto. How dare you talk about Orochimaru-sama in such a way?!"

Orochimaru shook his head and sighed. "Do not worry about it Kabuto." Taking a step forward, the Snake Sannin smiled at Naruto. "It is good to see you again Naruto-kun. Do tell me, how is my dear Sasuke-kun doing?"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at this and shook his head. "Yeah, the teme's comatose after his encounter with Itachi. Sooo, I'll just say not well and leave it at that Snake-Freak. Now, what the hell did you bastards do to Tsunade?!"

Kabuto smirked at this point and pushed up his glasses with his right middle finger. "It's quite simple Naruto-kun. Tsunade Senju happens to be hemophobic. But since I highly doubt someone of your low intelligence would understand such a term, let me put it in a way you can understand…"

When the blonde threw a kunai at the enemy medic nin's kneecap, Kabuto was forced to leap backwards to avoid it. Upon noticing the explosive tag strapped to it however, he cursed under his breath and threw up his arms to shield himself to the best of his ability. When the explosive went off, Kabuto Yakushi was sent flying backwards where he then slammed into a boulder rather hard. As he pushed himself off of the ground and began to heal his injuries, the silver-haired medic heard Naruto speak. "Hemophobia, in other words it's the fear of blood. It also goes by a few other names, but is that really what matters here Snake's Bitch? What matters is you hurt somebody I care about and I won't forgive you for it." Glancing towards Orochimaru at this point, the blonde pointed at him and narrowed his eyes further. "After I kill your little bitch Orochimaru, I'll be coming for you. You killed Jiji and I can't forgive that!"

Orochimaru quirked a brow at this and began to laugh loudly at Naruto's bravado. "Oh really? Pray tell Naruto-kun, what makes you so sure you could even kill Kabuto-kun? I doubt your dear Kakashi-sensei could pull it off, and you're just a simple, pathetic genin whose combat skills don't even compare to that of Sasuke-kun's." Taking a step back, the Snake Sannin nodded his head towards his right-hand man. "If you think you can pull it off, however, you are more than welcome to try. However, should your little friends try to interfere, I cannot guarantee their safety. You understand, don't you little Naruto-kun?"

The young Uzumaki found himself smirking at this as he looked into Kabuto's eyes. "I'm not some weakling that can't do anything you snake bastard. You'll regret giving me this chance." Quickly pulling out a couple of kunai, Naruto coated one in fire chakra and the other in wind chakra and took a battle stance. Staring down the medic nin, the blonde Jinchuriki watched him closely, waiting for any little tick that would indicate what Kabuto was going to try.

Kabuto eyed Naruto Uzumaki carefully and shook his head, a dangerous glint shining in his eyes as he activated his Chakura no Mesu (Chakra Scalpel) technique and noticed the curious look Naruto was giving him. "This won't even be a challenge for me Naruto-kun. Now, shall we begin?" Quickly dashing forward, aiming to render his opponent's arms immobile using his technique, Kabuto was quickly caught by surprise as Naruto slipped under his first attack and inflicted a deep gash into the medic's left side, the fire kunai cauterizing his wound as it was inflicted. Before Kabuto could swing his other hand in an attempt to sever at least _something_ in Naruto's right arm to keep him from continuing with his attack, the blonde spun around and slashed deeper with his wind kunai.

As Kabuto was forced to leap back, screaming out in pain at the wound inflicted to his side, Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock. This pathetic wannabe ninja had actually _hurt_ Kabuto! Glancing to his medic, the Snake Sannin watched as his wound began to heal slower than it usually would. "What the hell is wrong with you Kabuto?! Finish that little brat already!"

The silver-haired Oto ninja winced in pain and shook his head. "He used a clever strategy with that attack Orochimaru-sama. But more than that, he managed to nearly destroy some of my organs with that attack. It'll be fine, just give me a little longer to finish this punk off."

As his opponent healed his wound, the blonde quirked a brow and began to think of what he should do to negate his opponent's healing abilities. _I suppose I could tap into the Kyuubi's chakra if need be, but I don't want to resort to that unless it's absolutely necessary. Another strategy would be to force him to use up all of his chakra. He wouldn't be able to heal himself if he were to run out of chakra…right?_ Shrugging, the blonde slipped away his kunai and quickly flew through a series of hand seals before bringing his hands up to his lips. "**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!**"

This attack wasn't aimed at Kabuto. No, it was aimed at his dear master, Orochimaru. While Orochimaru could have easily dodged it, his precious medic leaped into the way and took the attack for him. Chuckling at this, the Konoha genin nodded his head. "I figured you might do that if I did something like that. That was incredibly stupid of you Kabuto. But, now I have some ideas to try. Come _Boy_, it's time that we _really_ got started!"

**A/N: Okay, this one took a little while to finish. Reason? Been feeling like crap so I ended up falling asleep CONSTANTLY while trying to write this chapter. lol. Damn glad I finished it!**

**Not sure whether this is fortunate or unfortunate, but, as with the previous chapter, I didn't reach the point where I had originally planned to cut the chapter off at. This chapter was getting pretty long as well, so I picked the spot that I did and cut the chapter off there. I think this chapter turned out pretty well as is, sooo...no complaints here. *nods***

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to more. Up next is chapter 3 of Naruto - Life of a Dragoon Ninja, so hope you're looking forward to that!**

**Good day to all of ya, take care, and so on and so on! lol.**


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